POOR HEALTH LITERACY AS A
BARRIER TO PARTICIPATION IN
HEALTH CARE
Functional literacy (the ability to read
simple text and write simple sentences
about everyday life), is a basic skill
enabling people to participate more fully in
society. There is consistent evidence
indicating a link between low literacy and
poorer health outcomes. People with lower
literacy levels are generally 1.5 to 3 times
more likely to have poor health outcomes
than people with higher literacy levels.
8
The
prevalence of low literacy in England is
surprisingly high.
The most recent (2003) English national
survey of literacy, numeracy, and use of
information technology, also known as the
The Skills for Life survey, assessed the
extent to which these basic skills were
present at a level needed to achieve full
potential (Level 2 in the National
Qualification Framework). This is described
as ‘being able to understand a range of