The health Literacy of america’s adults: Results From the 2003 National assessment of adult Literacy

The report presents initial findings on health literacy from the 2003 National assessment of adult Literacy (NaaL). health literacy was assessed for over 19,000 adults in households or prisons. The report focuses on the relationship between health literacy and background characteristics, preventive health practices, and sources of health information. health literacy is defined based on the ability to perform health tasks, such as understanding complex health-related texts or documents, drawing abstract inferences, and applying abstract information from texts or documents. Low health literacy has been associated with higher hospitalization rates, less frequent screening for diseases, increased emergency room use, and disproportionately high rates of disease and mortality. The report discusses statistically significant differences related to literacy based on self-reported background characteristics.

Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin, Y., and Paulsen, C. (2006). The health Literacy of america’s adults: Results From the 2003 National assessment of adult Literacy (NCES 2006–483). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.