HOW DOES LOW HEALTH LITERACY RELATE TO HEALTH?

Low health literacy makes it harder to understand and follow the advice that doctors give. People with low health literacy have more trouble understanding how to take their medicines. It's harder for them to keep control of their medical conditions, like high blood pressure or diabetes. People with low health literacy also tend to go to the emergency room more often. They are more likely to be put in the hospital. Unfortunately, low health literacy also increases the chances of dying earlier.

For those that want more information about this, information about research on the role of health literacy in health can be found here.