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Previous Volume 337:272-274 July 24, 1997 Number 4 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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In 1992, the Department of Education tested 26,000 adults in the National Adult Literacy Survey to assess the literacy of the U.S. population in the English language.¹ On the basis of the survey results, it was estimated that 40 million to 44 million people, or about one quarter of the adult population in the United States, cannot understand written materials that require only very basic proficiency in reading. These people would generally be unable to read and understand instructions on medication bottles or household cleaning solutions, notes from a child's teacher, or directions on a map.

Poor reading skills are . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Address reprint requests to Dr. Weiss at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr., San Antonio, TX 78284-7794. For information about the National Work Group on Literacy and Health, contact Laurie Schneider, M.P.H., AMC Cancer Research Center, 1600 Pierce St., Denver, CO 80212 (telephone: 303-239-3405; fax: 303-233-1863; e-mail: schneiderl@amc.org).

References

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