Literacy news
A third of over 65-year-olds struggle to read basic health information
16 Mar 2012
One in three adults aged over 65 in England have difficulty understanding basic health-related information, suggests a study in the BMJ. They are more than twice as likely to die within five years as adults with no literacy problems, it was found.
The University College London study tested nearly 8,000 adults on their understanding of aspirin instructions.
The Patients Association said patients should help draft information leaflets so they are "relevant and clear".
Using a short test containing four questions, based on instructions similar to those found on a packet of aspirin, the researchers assessed the participants' ability to read and understand the information.
They found that 67.5% had high health literacy (achieved the maximum score), 20% were classed as medium (made one error) and 12.5% had low health literacy (got two, one or no questions correct).
In the study, almost half of the adults aged over 80 could not correctly answer all four questions, compared to one-quarter of the adults aged 60 or less.
Read the results at BBC.
