Health Literacy

"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines health literacy as \"The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.\" Health literacy includes the ability to understand instructions on prescription drug bottles, appointment slips, medical education brochures, doctor's directions and consent forms, and the ability to negotiate complex health care systems. Health literacy is not simply the ability to read. It requires a complex group of reading, listening, analytical, and decision-making skills, and the ability to apply these skills to health situations. Health literacy varies by context and setting and is not necessarily related to years of education or general reading ability. Patients may need to evaluate information for credibility and quality, analyze relative risks and benefits, calculate dosages, interpret test results, locate health information, articulate their health concerns, describe symptoms accurately, ask pertinent questions, and understand spoken medical advice or treatment directions. They may also need to be visually literate, computer literate, information literate, and numerically or computationally literate. With the development of the Internet as a source of health information, health literacy may also include the ability to search the Internet and evaluate websites."