AGE Platform Europe is taking part in a research project on health literacy among the ageing population entitled IROHLA and coordinated by University Medical Centre Groningen. The project has assessed a large number of health literacy interventions and is now preparing Guidelines for Policy and Practice for improving health literacy among older people in member states of the European Union. You are kindly invited to take part in a survey which has been launched in order to collect national input.
Please give us your thoughts on health literacy in your country
We would like to know your opinion about health literacy and opportunities for improvement in your country by taking our questionnaire. It contains five questions and your contribution will help us to make these guidelines suitable for policy makers and health practitioners in European countries.
Link to the questionnaire: https://unipark.de/uc/HL-Needs
What is health literacy and why is it important?
Health literacy has been defined as the degree to which people are able to access, understand, appraise and communicate information to engage with the demands of different health contexts in order to promote and maintain good health across the life course. Low health literacy is associated with lower life expectancy, poorer health status, and more chronic illnesses. People with low health literacy (25%-50% of populations in European countries) are facing problems with communication, self-management and adherence to medical plans. They make more use of health services than people with higher levels of health literacy, which is leading to higher costs of healthcare.
People with low health literacy often have lower levels of education, are poorer and belong to lower social economic groups in the society. Low health literacy is more common in the ageing population.
Take our questionnaire on health literacy
This questionnaire is anonymous. If you like to be informed about progress of the project, please give use your contact details. Thank you very much for your collaboration.
Link to the questionnaire: https://unipark.de/uc/HL-Needs
Link to the IROHLA project website: www.irohla.eu
