- Health literacy is more than just being able to read health information and complete medical forms
- Health literacy involves the integration of a wide variety of individual skills, health-care professional communication skills, health-care practices and system processes
- Data from the International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey estimated that limited health literacy skills affect 55% of Canadian adults over 16 years of age and 88% of seniors
- Segments of the population that are more vulnerable to the risks associated with low health literacy include seniors, immigrants and the unemployed
- There are higher average health literacy scores among adults who reported excellent health, compared to those who reported poor or fair health status
Foundational
Facilitating Client Centred Learning
Background Information