Advances in health literacy: Current research and practice

This session will focus on three research projects designed to assess or improve oral health literacy. Researchers have found that low literacy has a detrimental effect on general health and the use of medical services. Evidence from research in medical settings consistently highlights the importance of comprehension and literacy for patient compliance and increased positive health outcomes. Although much is known about medical health literacy, few studies that have systematically studied oral health literacy.

A large-scale, representative study found that nearly nine out of ten U.S. adults have some difficulty understanding basic health information. The average American reads at the 8th to 9th grade level. Health information is usually written at a much higher reading level. People with limited health literacy are often less likely to seek preventive care, comply with prescribed treatment and maintain self-care regimens needed to control chronic diseases. In the U.S., limited literacy skills are a stronger predictor of an individual's health status than age, income, employment status, education level, and racial or ethnic group. Limited health literacy is estimated to cost the U.S. between 100 and 200 billion dollars each year. Health outcomes may be improved by appropriately intervening at the social, institutional and educational levels.