Health Literacy: An Update of Medical and Public Health Literature
Rima E. Rudd, Jennie Anderson, Sarah Oppenheimer, Charlotte Reese Nath
Abstract
Health literacy has been commonly defined 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”. The field of inquiry commonly referred to as health literacy has grown considerably since 2000 when “Health and Literacy: A Review of Medical and Public Health Literature” was published. Traditionally, reviews of the literature in public health and medicine focus on articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The chapter focused on the action plan for the health literacy objective highlights the need to address characteristics of health systems, including the communication skills of professionals, institutional protocols, and print materials in common use such as health history forms, informed consent, discharge instructions, and patient education materials. Most of the published studies in health literacy focus on assessments of health materials.