·       90 million people in the United States have poor health literacy.

·       This accounts for 73 billion dollars in annual health costs.

·       Lower literacy is associated with higher levels of poverty and need for public assistance.

·       Adults age 65 and over have the lowest literacy.

·       Written materials are by far the most frequently used tools for educating patients despite evidence suggesting they are inappropriate for a  significant number of consumers who cannot read or comprehend the information

Archambault, D. (2003). Health literacy: Understanding health information. Community Health Forum, 5(4), 35.

South Carolina Department of Education. (2005).  The state of literacy in America: Estimates of the local, state, and  national levels. Retrieved on  January 25, 2006 from, http://www.sclrc.org/NalsNarrative.htm

White, S. & Dillow, S. (2005). Key concepts and features of the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Washington DC: National Center for Education Statistics. NCES 2006471.

Wilson , F. L., Mood D. W., Risk J., and Kershaw, T. (2003). Evaluation of Education Materials using Orem's Self-Care Deficit Theory. Nursing Science Quarterly, 16(1), 68-69.