Infographic: Health Literacy

Patients With Low Health Literacy…

Are more likely to visit an emergency room1
Have more hospital stays2
Are less likely to follow treatment plans3
Have higher mortality rates4

1 Griffey, R. T., Kennedy, S. K., D’Agostino McGowan, L., Goodman, M., & Kaphingst, K. A. (2014). Is low health literacy associated with increased emergency department utilization and recidivism? Acad Emerg Med, 21(10), 1109-1115

2 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(12), 791–798.

3 Williams, M.V., Baker, D. W., Parker, R. M., & Nurss, J. R. (1998). Relationship of functional health literacy to patient’s knowledge of their chronic disease: A study of patients with hypertension and diabetes. Arch Intern Med, 158, 166-172.

4 Baker, D. W., Wolf, M. S., Feinglass, J., Thompson, J. A., Gazmararian, J. A., & Huang, J. (2007). Health literacy and mortality among elderly persons. Arch Intern Med, 167(14), 1503-1509.