OBJECTIVES Previous research established that low literacy is independently associated with poorer health. Our objective was to determine whether low literacy skill also is associated with higher health care charges. METHODS We studied persons enrolled in Medicaid because of medical need/indigence by testing literacy skills in English or Spanish and measuring annual health care charges. Stati...

BACKGROUND Low health literacy is a common problem among older adults. It is often suggested to be associated with poor adherence. This suggested association implies a need for effective adherence interventions in low health literate people. However, previous reviews show mixed results on the association between low health literacy and poor adherence. A systematic meta-review of systematic revi...

this chief aim of this paper is to explore the concept of funds of knowledge (fok) in relation to cultural historical activity theory (chat). this study unveils the basic tenets of fok from the lens of activity theory and analyzes pertinent discoveries, key concepts, and scholars’ arguments relating to fok and literacy development over time. the major purpose of this study is to expand the pers...

methods this cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 older adults in southeast iran, during year 2015. the twenty health centers were selected randomly and 10 subjects were selected using multistage random sampling from a population from each health center. the test of functional health literacy in adults questionnaire was used for collecting the data. the data was analyzed using the stata.1...

BACKGROUND Many older adults have low levels of health literacy which affects their ability to participate optimally in healthcare. It is unclear how cognitive decline contributes to health literacy. To study this, longitudinal data are needed. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the associations of cognitive functioning and 10-years' cognitive decline with health literacy in older ad...

This report reviews some of the extensive literature in health literacy, much of it focused on the intersection of low literacy and the understanding of basic health care information. Several articles describe methods for assessing health literacy as well as methods for assessing the readability of texts, although generally these latter have not been developed with health materials in mind. Oth...

Background: Health literacy is an increasingly important public health concern. However, little is known about the health literacy of general public in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of low health literacy and demographic associations in Shanghai, China. Methods: This study was a community-based cross-sectional health survey utilizing a multi-stage random sampling d...

BACKGROUND An estimated one-half of Americans have limited health literacy skills. Low literacy has been associated with less receipt of preventive services, but its impact on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is unclear. We sought to determine whether low literacy affects patients' knowledge or receipt of CRC screening. METHODS Pilot survey study of patients aged 50 years and older at a larg...