ABSTRACT
This chapter will define health literacy and describe levels of health literacy among adults in the United States, as well as disparities in health literacy among different population subgroups. The chapter will summarize available evidence on the impact of health literacy on health knowledge, use of health services, and health-related outcomes—effects that are thought to be based on interactions between patients’ skill levels and the demands of health care and social systems. Different measures of health literacy will be discussed, and we will describe health literacy-based recommendations for materials development. A case study describing a current area of research in health literacy will be presented.
