Health literacy is the term used to describe people’s ability to understand and communicate health information.

Being health literate means being clearly and accurately informed about your health. It involves taking part in the decision making process and understanding your options when filling out a consent form, navigating a hospital setting or following your physician’s advice.

Research suggests that people with low health literacy:

• Make more medication or treatment errors
• Are less able to follow treatments
• Lack the skills needed to negotiate the health care system
• Are at a higher risk for hospitalisation than people with adequate literacy skills