HEALTHCARE QUALITY PAGE

Health literacy — Why don’t we recognize the health-related problem?

Health literacy is not a marginal communication issue; it affects whether people can understand, use, and act on health information. In the UK, it is estimated that 1 in 6 adults have a reading level equivalent to that of a 9-year-old. In addition, 43 percent of adults do not have adequate literacy skills to understand health information, and 61 percent do not have adequate numeracy skills to understand health information.

Limited health literacy matters because people with lower health literacy are more likely to have:

• poorer health outcomes

• more hospital admissions

• higher mortality and greater prevalence of chronic disease and related risk factors

• more frequent medical visits

• fewer questions asked during consultations with healthcare professionals.

Many tools are available to measure health literacy. Some researchers have referred to health literacy as the newest vital sign and advise healthcare professionals to be aware of their patients’ health literacy. However, measurement and awareness are only useful if they lead to clearer communication and checks on understanding.

Practical tools can help. Ask 3 Questions encourages patients to ask what their main problem is, what they need to do, and why it matters. Teach-back asks patients to explain information in their own words so that the healthcare professional can check if the explanation was clear. These approaches can improve understanding and patient satisfaction.

Health literacy should not be treated as a patient problem, but as a routine responsibility of healthcare services to communicate clearly and check patients’ understanding.