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Study shows majority of adults have intermediate health literacy

Healthcare Strategist Trend Watch, September 8, 2006

A new report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) found that a majority of Americans have intermediate health literacy. As part of the study, health literacy for 19,000 Americans was reported using four performance levels: below basic, basic, intermediate, and proficient. The study found that 53% of had intermediate health literacy, 22% had basic and 14% had below basic health literacy.

Relationships between health literacy and background variables, such as educational attainment, age, race/ethnicity, where adults get information about health issues, and health insurance coverage, were examined as part of the study, according to a NCES release. For example, adults with below basic or basic health literacy were less likely than adults with higher health literacy to get information about health issues from written sources such as newspapers, magazines, books, brochures, or the Internet, and more likely than adults with higher health literacy to get most of their information about health issues from radio and television, according to the release.

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