Reading Between the Lines: How Literacy Shapes your Health
- Sarah R
- Jun 8
- 4 min read
48% of Canadians have literacy skills that are below the necessary threshold.
What does that even mean?
Literacy is scored on levels. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tests literacy scores around the world using the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, which is commonly referred to as the PIAAC. The literacy scores on the PIAAC range from level 0 to level 5. Level 1 and below indicate that the reader can recognize basic vocabulary and may be able to pick out simple information from short texts. On the other hand, Level 5 readers can integrate information across large bodies of text, pulling out and analyzing subtle clues. Now, not everyone needs to be a level 5 reader, but individuals below level 3 do not have the literacy skills necessary to thrive in today’s world. Canada’s most recent assessment in 2023 found that 48% of Canadians fall below level 3. This is an alarming statistic; that’s more than 12 million people who do not have the necessary literacy skills. And that’s just people between the ages of 16 and 65.
So how exactly is low literacy impacting someone’s life?
Low literacy affects an individual's life in many ways. For instance, at level 1 or below, it can affect how they understand a train timetable, read the nutritional label at a grocery store, and understand written or spoken instructions. These are just a few examples. Even at level 2, everyday paperwork can be a struggle. Something as routine as enrolling a child in a new school and filling out the forms can become a source of frustration, self-doubt, and anxiety. The creeping struggles from low literacy skills invade every corner of a person’s life. The corner we’ll be talking about today is health. Can low literacy skills really impact someone’s health?
How does literacy relate to health?
Have you ever heard of the social determinants of health? Researchers and clinicians know that your health isn’t only determined by physical factors like germs or genetics. The state of your health and likelihood of developing a chronic disease are just as tied to life factors such as where you live, what you do for work, how much money you make, and your education. It’s a well-established finding that education is associated with health and well-being. The more educated you are, the more likely you are to live a healthy, chronic illness-free life, and to even live longer! So, we know that education is linked to health, but what about literacy?
You might think this all comes down to education, that people with more schooling are healthier, and literacy just tags along. But it turns out literacy matters on its own. Some researchers found that people who had low literacy scores were more likely to rate their physical and mental health as lower than those with high literacy scores. Additionally, those with low literacy may have difficulty understanding instructions from doctors, reading prescription labels, reading consent paperwork, and understanding their treatment options. Furthermore, they may have more difficulty selecting medical insurance and filling out the required paperwork to get the healthcare that they need. Patients with low literacy were also more likely to have diabetes and heart failure. Not only does adult low literacy affect those living with it, but it can also affect their children.
Studies found that adults with low literacy are up to four times more likely to exhibit negative health behaviors, which can affect children's health through role modeling. Additionally, caregivers with low literacy who have chronically ill children are shown to use health services twice as much as those with stronger literacy skills. Adults with low literacy are less likely to engage in literacy-building activities with their children, and this can lead to negative effects, as adolescents with low literacy are at least twice as likely to exhibit aggressive or antisocial behavior.
So, what do we know? Well, research suggests that literacy is associated with health outcomes. By increasing a person’s literacy, this increases their ability to understand health information and manage their own and their children’s health. Knowing that 48% of Canadians have insufficient literacy skills, how can we ensure that Canadians have the literacy they need to live longer, healthier lives?
So, how can we fix this?
So glad you asked! The Further Education Society of Alberta (FESA) recognizes the many adverse effects of low literacy and its pervasiveness in our communities. To combat this, FESA has come up with programs to help improve adult literacy while also teaching parenting skills that help build literacy with children as young as infants!
Over the next few months, we’ll be doing a social media series on each of our programs, where we’ll discuss how we are combating low literacy in Canada, one program at a time! I’ll let you in on a sneak peek and tell you a bit more about one of our programs:
Our Literacy and Parenting Skills (LAPS) program teaches adult learners literacy skills through parenting workshops. These workshops use children’s literature to guide literacy building and encourage parents with low literacy to feel more comfortable talking about books with their children. By building literacy skills in parents, we are helping them build those skills in themselves and their children. Research shows that poor literacy skills in childhood predict poorer health outcomes later in life. By giving parents the tools they need to build literacy skills early in their child’s life, we’re equipping them with the skills they need to live longer, happier, and healthier lives.
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