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350 Appendix C
majority of adults (53 percent) had Intermediate health literacy; 22 percent of adults had
Basic and 14 percent had Below Basic health literacy. 4
Health literacy includes quantitative abilities, e.g. determining correct doses of
medication and comprehending nutrition labels. 7 People with low health literacy often
misunderstand information about the human body and how diseases develop. 7
Facts about health change constantly, and health - related information people have
learned is often out of date, forgotten or obsolete. In addition, health information given
in stressful or unfamiliar circumstances may not be remembered. 7 Health literacy skill
development is an essential component of health education instruction. The National
Health Education Standards, a framework for health education curriculum development,
instruction and assessment of student performance, benchmark health literacy
skill development for students enrolled in pre - K – secondary education. The overall
goal of these standards is improved educational achievement for students and improved
health in the United States. 8
Therefore, the American Association for Health Education actively supports the
development, implementation, and evaluation of health education and promotion
programs wherein health literacy concepts are incorporated and, thereby, enhance
decision making for health - related choices.
REFERENCES
1. Selden, C. R., Zorn, M., Ratzan, S., et al., eds. (February 2000). Health Literacy, January 1990 through 1999 .
NLM Pub. No. CBM 2000 - 1. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine, p. vi.
2. Friedland, R. B. (1998). Understanding Health Literacy: New Estimates of the Cost of Inadequate Health
Literacy. Washington, DC: National Academy on an Aging Society.
3. Baker, D. W., Parker, R. M., Williams, M. V., Clark, W. S. (1998). Health literacy and the risk of hospital
admission. Journal of General Internal Medicine 13 , 791 – 798.
4. Baker, D. W., Gazmararian, J. A., Williams, M.V., Scott, T., Parker, R. M., Green, D., et al. (2002). Functional
health literacy and the risk of hospital admission among Medicare managed care enrollees. American Journal
of Public Health 92 , 1278 – 1283.
5. Kindig, D., Affonso, D., Chudler, E., Gaston, M., Meade, C., Parker, R., et al. (April 2004.) Report brief.
Health literacy: A prescription to end confusion . Retrieved from http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/
19/726/health%20literacy%20final.pdf . Accessed June 27, 2008.
6. National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Science, U.S. Department of Education.
(September 2006). The Health Literacy of America ’ s Adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of
Adult Literacy. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006483
7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Health Literacy Basics: Fact Sheet. Retrieved from
http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsbasic.htm
8. National Health Education Standards. (n.d.). An Introduction to Student Standards. Retrieved from http://
www.aahperd.org/aahe/template.cfm?template=natl_health_education_standards.html
9. Johnston - Lloyd, L., & Yun, S. (March 2007). Health Literacy Outreach Paper. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration.
American Association of Health Education. (2008). Health Literacy: A Position Statement of the American
Association of Health Education (AAHE) . Retrieved from http://www.aahperd.org/aahe/pdf_files/pos_pap/
HealthLiteracy.pdf .