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Health Promotion International Advance Access originally published online on April 16, 2009
Health Promotion International 2009 24(3):285-296; doi:10.1093/heapro/dap014
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© The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

DEBATE

Health literacy revisited: what do we mean and why does it matter?

Anita Peerson1,* and Margo Saunders2

1Health Promotion and Public Health, School of Health and Social Development, Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences, Deakin University – Geelong Waterfront Campus, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia 2Public Health Policy Consultant, Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

* Corresponding author. E-mail: anita.peerson{at}deakin.edu.au


  Abstract

‘Health literacy’ refers to accessing, understanding and using information to make health decisions. However, despite its introduction into the World Health Organization's Health Promotion Glossary, the term remains a confusing concept. We consider various definitions and measurements of health literacy in the international and Australian literature, and discuss the distinction between the broader concept of ‘health literacy’ (applicable to everyday life) and ‘medical literacy’ (related to individuals as patients within health care settings). We highlight the importance of health literacy in relation to the health promotion and preventive health agenda. Because health literacy involves knowledge, motivation and activation, it is a complex thing to measure and to influence. The development of health literacy policies will be facilitated by better evidence on the extent, patterns and impact of low health literacy, and what might be involved in improving it. However, the current lack of consensus of definitions and measurement of health literacy will first need to be overcome.

Key words: health literacy; medical literacy


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