title: A new level of understanding. Health insurers are developing health literacy initiatives and taking steps to help consumers get clear information.
abstract: Education experts are issuing an important warning to their health care colleagues: Few Americans understand their health care information. That's the conclusion drawn from a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey that assessed the health literacy of 19,000 adults, only to conclude that the nation's health literacy is dangerously low and may even become a health risk for some. The data, which revealed that fewer than one in six adults and only one in three seniors has proficient health literacy--defined as an ability to understand, read, interpret, and then act on health care information--shed new light on health literacy as a significant operational issue for health care, business, and health plan executives.
authors.affiliation: PR Healthcare, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Aileen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kantor
mesh_terms: D032882:Comprehension; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007348:Insurance, Health; D014481:United States