Illiteracy the Contribution of Illiteracy

Illiteracy

The Contribution of Illiteracy to Ill Health

Illiteracy is a significant issue in the United States, and unfortunately one that too often goes unrecognized. In a society increasingly dependent on information, literacy of any kind threatens to create a large underclass of citizens who are unable to interact with and manipulate the basic information and data that swims around them everyday. The effects on society can thus be significant and range from an indicator of poverty to a kind of social isolation. But by far one of the most intriguing and dangerous consequences of illiteracy is its effect on the health of a society.

Currently, estimates in the United States government indicate that of the three major kinds of literacy -- prose (ability to function in a media-saturated society), document (the ability to read and understand basic documents), and quantitative (the ability to competently manipulate and understand numbers) -- illiteracy is rampant. In the U.S., 14% of all adults have a below basic level of prose literacy, 12% have a below basic level of document literacy, and 22% have a below basic level of quantitative literacy (Marcus, 2006). Worse, these rates are much higher among the elderly in the nation. Of those individuals older than 64, the percentages of those with below basic levels of literacy are 23%, 27%, and 34%, respectively. Among elderly Americans, then, anywhere from one-fifth to one-third of all people are effectively illiterate.

No matter how these people might be able to hide this fact, or refuse to take steps to combat their own illiteracy, it is crucial that they understand that there will be consequences for this illiteracy -- socially, yes, but also for their health. An illiterate senior citizen might not be able to read a bus schedule or might have trouble comparing the cost of two grocery store items. But much worse than this, these individuals will have an exceptionally difficult time managing their own health. Many of these illiterate individuals avoid doctor's offices because they are intimidated by the seemingly endless paperwork. Rather than take preventative care of their own bodies, they would rather just go to the emergency room as necessary because there someone asks them questions and fills out the forms (Marcus, 2006). Because they may be ashamed to admit they are illiterate, many will hide the fact from their healthcare practitioners, a tendency that could well exasperate their health problems and make it more difficult for them to ever get better.