This is great, Alana. Do you (or anyone else) have a full
citation for the Glossary?

Tasha Beauchamp


On Wed, 21 Nov 2001 08:23:22 -0700
 Alana LaPerle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> The WHO Health Promotion Glossary (1998) defines health
> literacy this way:
>
> Health literacy represents the cognitive and social
> skills which determine
> the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access
> to, understand and
> use information in ways which promote and maintain good
> health.
>
> Health literacy implies the achievement of a level of
> knowledge, personal
> skills and confidence to take action to improve personal
> and community
> health by changing personal lifestyles and living
> conditions. Thus, health
> literacy means more than being able to read pamphlets and
> make appointments.
> By improving people's access to health information, and
> their capacity to
> use it effectively, health literacy is critical to
> empowerment. Health
> literacy is itself dependent upon more general levels of
> literacy. Poor
> literacy can affect people's health directly by limiting
> their personal,
> social and cultural development, as well as hindering the
> development of
> health literacy.
>
>
> Alana