Jane Lucas uses Omega 5 oil products for better looking skin
By CHRISTINA SPENCER
Candia scientists proclaim that reading each day can keep the doctor away. Skipping the printed word can be hazardous to your health.
So says the Canadian Council on Learning, which used results from an in-depth international literacy survey to conclude there's a strong link between health literacy and wellness.
Last year, the council reported 60% of Canadians -- 48% in the Ottawa area -- could not properly understand and use basic health care information, such as instructions that accompany prescription drugs.
Digging deeper into its data, the council now says the strongest correlations between reading and health are found among those who suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure.
DIABETES LEVELS
Its analysis showed those with low health literacy suffer higher levels of diabetes. The good news, however, is "as health literacy scores increase, there is a decline in the prevalence of diabetes," the council says.
"A similar trend was found for high blood pressure," it adds. "As health literacy rises, the prevalence of the disease is diminished."
The link is not surprising to Dr. Paul Cappon, a family physician and president of the learning council. Diabetes is a complex disease related to diet, lifestyle and weight and if people understand some of those factors, they might "be able to develop healthy attitudes that might reduce your chances of acquiring the disease," he said.
As well, "once you have the illness, your knowledge of the disease, of what it does, of how to manage it, is going to be extremely important, critical, in fact, in terms of your ability to be able to control it."
The term "health literacy" does not mean scouring medical literature, he stressed.
"We're not saying reading necessarily about health issues, and we're not saying taking more classes on health issues in schools. It's not what you know, it's how you're able to learn lifelong which is important."
INTERPRET INFORMATION
The term "health literacy" broadly refers to a person's ability to find and interpret health information then make decisions.
People with very low levels of health literacy are much more likely to report bad or merely "fair" health compared to those with strong health literacy skills, the council found.
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Also, as the health system confronts stress -- from doctor shortages to earlier hospital discharges -- individuals will have to take more responsibility for their health, Cappon notes.
On the doctor shortage, for instance, "That you come to the physician having some knowledge or have written down symptoms and timing ... and you come with questions prepared in advance -- that helps a lot.
"It's not solving the critical shortage of physicians in the country but it is helping in terms of the result the patient might expect."
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