Health literacy and older adults: What do we know and where do we go from here?

National estimates report only 3% of older adults to be proficient with health literacy skills. Low health literacy levels are reported predictors of disparaging health outcomes. In an attempt to further understand health literacy in the older population, a systematic literature review was conducted. Eight articles met inclusion criteria. All studies were conducted in urban settings in the United States. Study sample size ranged from 33-3,000 participants. Two studies evaluated health-related outcomes and reported significant associations between low health literacy and poorer health outcomes. Two other studies investigated the impact of health literacy on medication management, reporting mixed findings. Efforts to fully understand the variables that influence health literacy were hampered by use of diverse health literacy measures. The findings of this review highlight the importance of working to improve healthcare strategies for older adults with low health literacy and highlight the need for a standardized and validated clinical health literacy screening tool for older adults. The advantages of improving health literacy skills include improved health care decisions, communication, compliance to treatment directions, and improved health status; all of which should result in cost savings to the health care system and improved patient-provider satisfaction.