最近，有学者总结了96项已经发表的研究成果，结果提示“理解医学资讯较困难者（low health literacy～译者简称“医盲”）不仅很少利用各类健康服务，并且健康状况较差，如这类人经常住院，经常造访医院的急诊室等，特别是老年医盲者往往死亡率更高”。据推测，美国约有医盲8000万，这个数字是巨大的。那么，中国又有多少？恐怕不在少数吧。由此可见大力开展健康教育的必要性。更多资讯，请参阅原文：

Low 'Health Literacy' Hazardous to Your Health

Study found inability to interpret health information linked to poorer outcomes

FRIDAY, July 22 (HealthDay News) -- If you have low "health literacy," defined as having difficulty understanding medical information, your health may be at risk.

In a review of 96 published studies, researchers concluded that low health literacy is linked with many types of poorer health outcomes and poorer use of health services.

"There are no real surprises here," said study author Nancy Berkman, senior health policy research analyst at RTI International, a North Carolina-based organization that conducts health research.

The report is published July 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, and was funded by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

About 80 million Americans have limited health literacy, the researchers report, and that puts their health at risk.

"If you don't understand what is going on, what is being written, this can have a negative impact on your use of health-care services and your health outcomes," Berkman said. "It's imperative you do what you can to understand the communication from the health-care system."

The review found that low health literacy was consistently linked with a number of poor outcomes. These include more hospitalization, a greater use of the emergency room services, less frequent mammogram screenings, less frequent flu vaccinations and a poor ability to take medicines correctly or understand labels and health messages.

Among older people, low health literacy was linked with overall worse health status and higher mortality rates.

They did not find a firm link between poor health literacy and some other health conditions and outcomes. These include access to care, some health behaviors, taking medicine on schedule, severity of asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure control, among others.

The studies also didn't provide firm evidence about one type of health literacy -- a skill called numeracy, which helps people do such things as measure blood glucose and adhere to medicine regimens and outcomes.

While a person's cognitive skills would play a role in how literate they are, the study did not examine this, Berkman said.

The findings came as no surprise to Rima Rudd, a senor lecturer at the Harvard School of Public Health who is the principal investigator for Health Literacy Studies.

While the review is sound, she says, "this offers only half the picture." The problem is not just people's low health literacy, but the inability of some health-care providers to communicate information in a way their patients can understand, Rudd said.

Rudd said patients can demand that health-care provider speak "in every day words." If you don't understand what a health-care provider is telling you, in print or in words, she suggests asking something like this: "I am sorry, but I haven't had your training. Can you use everyday words?"

Ask questions if you don't understand, Berkman added, and don't be shy about asking again and again if necessary. Taking someone with you to the doctor's office can also help, she said.

In an editorial accompanying the study, Cynthia Baur, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the findings reinforce the idea that health communication materials have to be pre-tested with target audiences, among other practices, to be sure they are effective.

SOURCES: Rima Rudd, M.S.P.H., Sc.D., senior lecturer, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston; Nancy D. Berkman, Ph.D., senior health policy research analyst, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, N.C.; July 19, 2011, Annals of Internal Medicine