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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2005 Mar 1;96(Suppl 2):S62–S77. doi: 10.1007/BF03403703

Literacy and Health Research in Canada: Where Have We Been and Where Should We Go?

Irving Rootman 15,✉, Barbara Ronson 25
PMCID: PMC6975604  PMID: 16078556

Abstract

This article reviews current literature and research on literacy and health and identifies priorities for research on this topic in Canada. Information sources included documents found through an environmental scan, the Alpha Plus collection and a computer search of recent documents. The information was analyzed using a conceptual framework. The review found that low literacy has direct and indirect impacts on health. Families are at risk due to difficulty reading medication prescriptions, baby formula instructions and health and safety education materials. People with lower levels of literacy tend to live and work in less healthy environments. They have more difficulties obtaining employment and income security. Determinants of literacy include: education, early childhood development, aging, living and working conditions, personal capacity/genetics, gender and culture. Action is needed to improve literacy and health through a combination of health communication, education and training, community development, organizational development, and policy development. There is some evidence that such interventions can have a positive effect on health, particularly when combined with one another. Further program and policy development requires greater evidence and evaluation of existing initiatives, more cost/benefit analyses, more culturally specific studies, and greater attention to current social trends and needs.

MeSH terms: Literacy, health, health literacy, research, evaluation, health promotion

Footnotes

Acknowledgements and Sources of Support: This article is based on a paper prepared for an International Think-Tank on Reducing Health Disparities and Promoting Equity for Vulnerable Populations sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) held September 21–23, 2003. The authors acknowledge the Reducing Health Disparities Initiative of CIHR and the Canadian Population Health Initiative of the Canadian Institute for Health Information for sponsoring the production of this article. They also thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s “Valuing Canadian Literacy” Program for their support of the project to develop a program of research on literacy and health, and the CIHR Population and Public Health, Aboriginal and Gender and Health Institutes for supporting the workshop on literacy and health research. Thanks to participants at the think-tank for their input; to the investigators on the SSHRC grant (Jim Frankish, Deborah Gordon El-Bihbety, Heather Hemming and Margot Kaszap); and to participants in the focus groups for their input into the conceptual framework for literacy and health research presented here. Particular thanks go to Jim Frankish for his constructive comments on this paper, and to the reviewer of this paper for constructive suggestions. The content remains solely the responsibility of the authors.

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