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Previous Volume 356:757-758 February 15, 2007 Number 7 Next

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By Christina Zarcadoolas, Andrew F. Pleasant, and David S. Greer. 368 pp., illustrated. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2006. $50. ISBN 978-0-7879-8433-5.

It is impossible to avoid messages about health in 21st-century America, yet many people don't understand what these messages mean. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) estimates that only 12% of the adult U.S. population is "proficient" at understanding health information; the rest of the population has difficulty understanding the terms that doctors, hospitals, and insurers routinely throw their way. Also according to the NAAL, 14% of the adult population — approximately 30 million people — have "below basic" health literacy, meaning that they can't understand simple information about health.

People with low health literacy are more likely to . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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