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Health Literacy: A Brief Introduction

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Abstract

Clear and effective communication is a fundamental component of quality healthcare. Beginning with the most basic clinical encounter, healthcare providers seek to elicit information, answer questions, explain diagnoses, and offer instructions for possible medical or behavioral intervention. Patients and families, in turn, are expected to be able to provide an accurate account of behaviors or symptoms and both raise and answer pertinent questions within a medical and social history taking process. Beyond the clinician visit, patients must remember what transpired during the interaction in order to make appropriate decisions. In addition to this interpersonal exchange, information about recommended health behaviors, promotion for self-care, treatment decision making, or even directions for navigating a particular health system are conveyed using various health technologies. Patients and families are expected to be able to use available communication tools, which may range in complexity; from print forms, brochures, and telephone, to interactive video programs, electronic health record “patient portals”, and the Internet. In this chapter, we review the meaning of health literacy, its associations with health outcomes and recommended approaches for intervention. A conceptual framework deconstructing the health literacy skill set is specifically identified and guidance offered for incorporating this relatively new construct into the design of robust and complimentary strategies applicable to the field of behavioral medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of General Internal Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 750 N. Lake Shore Drive, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Michael S. Wolf (Associate Professor of Medicine and Learning Sciences)

  2. Health Literacy and Learning Program, Center for Communication in Healthcare, Division of General Internal Medicine, and Institute for Healthcare Studies, Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, 750 N. Lake Shore Drive, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Stacy Cooper Bailey (Clinical Research Associate and Program Director)

  3. School of Public Health and Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-Based Decision Making, The University of Sydney, Edward Ford Building (A27), Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Kirsten J. McCaffery (Senior Research Fellow)

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  1. Michael S. Wolf
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  2. Stacy Cooper Bailey
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  3. Kirsten J. McCaffery
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Correspondence to Michael S. Wolf .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. St Georges Hospital Medical School, Dept. Psychology, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, United Kingdom

    A. Steptoe

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Wolf, M.S., Bailey, S.C., McCaffery, K.J. (2010). Health Literacy: A Brief Introduction. In: Steptoe, A. (eds) Handbook of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09488-5_25

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