As discussed, very little research exists on the area of health literacy in Ireland. The most recent research carried out in this area is the International Adult Literacy Survey conducted in 1997.

International research however, paints a worrying picture of where Ireland could be in terms of the cost of health literacy to the Irish economy. It is estimated that health literacy costs the US economy between $106 and $236 billion annually. However, there is no recent figure available that shows the ongoing cost of health literacy to the Irish or European economy.

Switzerland

“The concept of health literacy is currently virtually unknown in Europe, except in Switzerland, Ireland and the UK.”

Dr. Jen Wang
Senior Researcher
Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine
University of Zurich

Dr. Jen Wang has conducted extensive research into this area, with particular focus on varying levels of health literacy throughout different regions in Switzerland.

The Swiss Health Literacy Survey 2006, which is a continuation of the "Future Patient" (2003) project revealed the following:

• Insufficient health literacy accounts for around 3% of health spending or 1.5 billion Swiss francs.
• 85% of respondents want to be actively involved in making medical decisions, but only 49% were actually involved by their GP to the extent desired.
• Moreover, research repeatedly shows that patients would like to have a choice of treatment options, yet only a quarter of respondents say that their GPs always suggest therapy alternatives.
• This is despite the fact that people are well aware of the difficulty of health-related decisions: roughly 60% of respondents regard choosing a treatment or a drug as a moderately to highly complex task.

Noticeably, Dr. Jen Wang summed up the findings of the “Future Patient” study at a press conference in August 2003 saying, “Patients want more say in their care, and providers want patients to take on greater responsibility. Yet there are no incentives for this in our system, which is not yet equipped to handle these new demands and their consequences.”

Canada

The International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey 2007 revealed startling results in relation to heath literacy for Canada including:

• 60% of adult Canadians lack the capacity to obtain, understand and act upon health information and services and to make appropriate health decisions on their own.
• Large differences in average literacy exist between different population sub-groups within Canada - especially among the elderly.
• Canadians have higher levels of health literacy than Americans.
• There is no figure available for the cost to the Canadian economy.