Many Australians are likely to have limited health literacy, according to the results of a new survey.
The survey of 2824 South Australians aged 15 years and over, published in the Medical Journal of Australia today, found that 24 per cent of survey respondents were at risk of limited functional health literacy and 21 per cent had a high likelihood of inadequate functional health literacy.
Functional health literacy involves the ability to read, calculate and act on oral and written information in health care settings.
The likelihood of inadequate functional health literacy increased with age and was more common among people with lower education levels, lower annual income, or who were born in countries other that Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
People with inadequate, or at-risk, functional health literacy were significantly more likely to report having diabetes, cardiac disease or stroke, and significantly less likely to have recently attended a doctor.
"Patients with limited health literacy are less likely to ask clinicians questions, and most health education information is too complex for them to understand," the study's authors wrote.
The University of Adelaide researchers said health professionals should adjust their communication styles to meet the needs of patients who have poor health literacy.
"Specifically tailoring communication for those with poor health literacy has been shown to improve outcomes among patients with diabetes. Explicitly including health literacy education in the design of chronic disease self-management programs may be an effective means of improving the outcomes achieved by such programs and minimising social inequalities in health outcomes," they wrote.
The authors argued that with increasing demands being made of people to maintain their own health and manage their own chronic conditions, competency to participate in decisions is a critical clinical and policy issue.
Previous studies have shown that limited functional health literacy is associated with premature mortality, higher health care costs, adverse health outcomes, lower health status, less frequent preventive health behaviour and less active self-management of chronic conditions.