Health information is a prominent thing today and can be found just about everywhere from television, to magazines, to billboards. The internet is a huge resource for health information but is a concern if the reader does not thoroughly understand what they are reading. There are many sites in which individuals give their personal advice or blog about their past experiences. This can be confusing and worrisome when facing a health dilemma, and can be detrimental in the choices a consumer makes regarding his or her health and treatments. “More than 5.5 million Americans search the internet for health topics every single day, and a majority of patients head online as their first source of health- or medication- related information”(Cochrane).
Cochrane blogged, “According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy Study, 87% of US adults don’t have the skills they need to manage their health and prevent disease.”; however, a fellow blogger refuted the accuracy of this number. Whatever the “real” percentage is, health literacy is a subject that all healthcare professionals and consumer should be concerned with and be willing to band together to improve the health outcomes in our country.
Cochrane, Zara Risoldi. “Health Literacy: Are you smarter than a web page?”. 09 March 2011. Discover. 09 March 2011. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/03/09/health-literacy-are-you-smarter-than-a-web-page/
