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| Canadians are having difficulty understanding
health information, including instructions that appear on medications. |
OTTAWA
| Feb.
9, 2007 — Instructions
from the doctor used to be as simple as, "take two pills and call
me in the morning." But today more than half of the Canadian population
cannot understand or evaluate basic health information.
Fifty-five per cent of adults and 88 per cent of seniors do not have
adequate literacy skills to make informed decisions about their own
health, according to a new report on literacy
in Canada from the Canadian Council on Learning.
"You are exposed to health information in many different contexts," says
Irving Rootman, a professor of health research at the University of
Victoria.
"When
you go to see your doctor or pharmacist, when you watch television and
see medical ads, when you're buying food and reading nutrition labels,
health literacy has to do with people's ability to make sense of that
information."
Rootman thinks the statistics are an indicator
of the complexity often found in health instructions and reflect the
fact literacy levels decline with age. He thinks health providers should
write materials such as brochures, safety instructions, and medical pamphlets
in clear language that everyone can understand.
Literacy in Canada faces an uphill battle
Working with the not-for-profit Canadian Public Health Association
(CPHA), and the federally funded National Literacy Secretariat (NLS),
Rootman is co-chairing an expert panel on health literacy. The committee
brings together health practitioners, researchers and educators to communicate
the issue to the medical community and raise it on the political agenda.
But the panel is facing an uphill battle as the NLS lost a quarter
of its operating budget in September when the Conservative government
cut $17.7 million in funding from adult learning and literacy groups.
"The federal government has cut back and has failed to fund a
number of the coalitions to improve general literacy, let alone health
literacy. I'm not too impressed with what they have been doing in this
area," Rootman says.
The Public Health Agency of Canada notes that people with low literacy
have higher rates of hospitalization and experience
more difficulties using the health care system. Currently PHAC supports a project to examine
determinants of health and spokesperson Jean Riverin says the "first
priority issue" is to develop goals towards health literacy but
no timeline has been specified.
Investing in literacy
Nonetheless, CPHA employee, Helen Simson, who is working with Rootman
on the health literacy expert panel, is optimistic.
| 'Educated people have a better
quality of life ... and are able to make informed decisions about
their health.' |
"If we can
demonstrate that investing dollars in literacy will certainly save dollars
in health care, we think that is what will grab the attention of the
policy makers."
She says the committee will be looking at ways to make health information
more understandable to groups like seniors or immigrants. In the near
future, this will include creating informative DVDs that will play
in the pharmacy or doctor's office, so people can see and hear the medical
information in addition to consulting provided reading material.
Simpson also says that improving health literacy among Canadians must
involve not only government but educators, and medical practitioners.
No one is immune
Canadian Council on Learning research analyst Erin Mills, who worked
on the adult learning section of the report, agrees.
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| Erin Mills says improving literacy is everyone's
responsibility. |
She thinks that
the responsibility falls on everyone because literacy is an issue that
cuts across all socio-economic levels, ethnicities and ages.
"People can say, 'oh, I don't have the time, I don't have the
money, governments aren't investing enough, the education system isn't
doing enough, my family's not doing enough,' but really I think it comes
down to fact that everyone has a role to play," she says.
This may include health providers working towards better communication
with patients and plainer language being used in reading material.
The CCL report also suggests that to improve health literacy, clear
national targets and timelines must be established for literacy in general.
And because reading skills decrease with age, continued learning is
key to improving health literacy among seniors.
Mills points to countries like Sweden and Ireland, which boast
higher health literacy rates than Canada because they have launched national
programs to improve adult literacy and address life-long learning.
"Educated people have a better quality of life and use the health
care system less frequently," Mills says. "They are able to
make informed decisions about their own health and that's really important.
It's critical so there's less reliance on the healthcare system and
that's a really good thing." 
|
Human Resources and Social Development Canada: 