Poor Readers Die Younger
Who knew that your ability to read may be a matter of life or death?
The problem is that poor readers can’t get the information they need to stay healthy. They don’t know how to take medicine correctly, when to seek medical care, or how to treat their illnesses.
Older people with low literacy skills have a 50% greater chance of dying over 5 years than seniors with adequate reading ability.
That’s according to a study from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. It was published in the July 23rd issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Only Smoking Is Worse For Your Health
The researchers found that low health literacy was the #2 predictor of death — right after smoking. Most of the higher death rates came from heart disease.
Low health literacy was defined as the inability to read and understand basic health-related materials such as doctor appointment slips, hospital forms and prescription bottles.
The study was done on almost 3300 Medicare patients in Cleveland, Miami, San Antonio, and Tampa.
In 1997, the patients were tested on their ability to read health-related materials like prescription bottles.
Six years later, the researchers determined how many had died by matching patient names against the National Death Index.
The Researchers Were Shocked By The High Death Rates
The results pointed to an urgent need to educate poor readers about their health.
Three main changes are needed in the medical community:
- Use plain language instead of medical jargon. For example, say ”sugar” instead “glucose” when talking to diabetics.
- Use pictures and movies instead of words. Many times, it’s easier to see what a doctor means than to read about it.
- Repeat instructions and educational materials until the patient fully understands. The researchers felt that the patients should be able to explain what is meant in their own words and answer questions about the material.
Over 75 million adults in the U.S. have basic or below basic health literacy. That’s a lot of potential early deaths.
The medical community needs to make these changes now.
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