"Adult literacy advocate Toni Cordell recounts the story of feeling comforted when her doctor told her that her medical concern could be solved with an easy surgery. She agreed to proceed without asking further questions and didn't understand the medical consent forms because she didn't read well. At a follow-up office visit a couple of weeks after the procedure, Cordell was shocked when the nurse asked, "How are you feeling since your hysterectomy?""
"Let's review some of the basic facts around this issue and how to address it to achieve better long-term health. What is health literacy? Health literacy is defined as obtaining, processing, understanding, and communicating health-related information to make informed health decisions (World Health Organization, 2025). It is related to overall academic ability, but even very intelligent, well-educated persons can have significant difficulties understanding health information."
Limited health literacy affects a large portion of adults and leads to serious consequences including medication errors, chronic illness, and increased healthcare costs. People with limited health literacy may misuse medicines, fill out forms incompletely, fail to follow care instructions, and make unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking, poor diet, and inactivity. Even individuals with high intelligence or education can struggle with health information. Health literacy involves obtaining, processing, understanding, and communicating health-related information to make informed decisions. Personal stories show how low reading levels can prevent informed consent. Simple, practical steps can improve individual health literacy and long-term health outcomes.
Read at Psychology Today
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