There’s an old saying- “what you don’t know won’t hurt you”. However, when it comes to health information, that’s not true. Health Literacy is important in preventing illness, managing chronic disease and even understanding prescription instructions and health insurance paperwork.
Only about one in 10 English-speaking adults in the U.S. has proficient health literacy skills according to a report from the National Center for Education Statistics. Even those who have strong basic literacy skills may need to brush up on their health literacy. Let’s face it, most of us have looked up health terminology, especially in an age when test results are often available on your health practice app before you even see your doctor again. Health information can be complex and sometimes it may be misunderstood, or someone may be too embarrassed to ask questions. Other times, people may feel they don’t need to know more about their health care, until they do. Here’s a fun assessment from the Pew Trusts. Don’t worry about acing it. The point is to get a quick snapshot of what you know, and don’t know. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/10/14/how-health-literate-are-you To your health!!!
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The average person reads many times a day- from texts to work documents, emails and instructions. However, only about one-third of the US population reads books for pleasure. According to Proliteracy, approximately 48 million adults in the United States cannot read above a third-grade level.
Literacy and comprehension are critical life skills. If you can't read work documents, important emails, your prescriptions or even a road sign, life will be more difficult. In addition to basic literacy, there are other forms of literacy that impact our daily lives. These include health, digital, financial and civic literacy. Perhaps the most important of these is health. When the last snapshot of national health literacy was taken, only about one in ten Americans were considered proficient while a little over one-third have only basic or below basic skills. This means many Americans could brush up their health literacy. Lack of these skills can be costly in terms of health outcomes. For an interesting perspective, read this 2020 article: https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/content/dam/UHG/PDF/About/Health-Literacy-Brief.pdf As part of Onslow Literacy Council's outreach to the community, we will be creating a series of videos and blog posts on health and nutrition literacy over the next few months. They'll be shared on social media and on this page. We hope you find them helpful and information. Cheers to good health!
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