title: [Health literacy: importance of assessment in nephrology].
abstract: Health literacy (HL) or basic reading and numeracy that allow an individual to function in the health care environment, is a relatively new topic, yet has increasingly been gaining interest over the past few years both in the research and policy agendas, particularly in the develop countries. Where studied, inadequate HL has been associated with poor health care quality and more cost. Yet many physicians do not recognize the problem or is not skilled enough to approach the subject with their patients. In this review, important aspects of HL, such as its epidemiology, associations with poor outcomes, assessment, determinants and interventions, particularly in nephrology, are discussed. Because it is common and associated to adverse clinical outcomes, inadequate HL should be incorporated into the list of assessments of patients with renal disease.
authors.affiliation: Fundação Instituto Mineiro deEstudo, Pesquisa e Tratamentoem Nefrologia, São Pedro. Juiz de Fora, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luanda T M
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Henrique Novais
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Mansur
authors.forename: Tatiane F P de Souza
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.forename: Fernando A B
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Colugnati
authors.forename: Marcus Gomes
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Bastos
mesh_terms: D057220:Health Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases; D009398:Nephrology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires