Health Literacy Quiz

What does 'Access' refer to in the context of Health Literacy?

• The ability to use health information

• The ability to teach health information

• The ability to find reliable sources of health information

• The ability to understand health information

Answer explanation

Access doesn't just mean being able to get to health information, it also means being able to identify which sources of health information are reliable!

This skill is increasingly important as health misinformation has become more and more common in online spaces.

What does it mean to 'Understand' in Health Literacy?

• The ability to apply health information

• The ability to identify sources of health information

• The ability to comprehend and correctly interpret health information in various formats

• The ability to access health information

What is involved in the 'Use' aspect of Health Literacy?

• The ability to access health information

• The ability to comprehend health information

• The ability to apply lessons learned about health to one's own life

• The ability to identify sources of health information

Answer explanation

It is possible for someone to understand health information, but not understand how to apply it in their own lives.

What is prose literacy?

• The ability to write

• The ability to understand spoken language

• Reading ability and level for written communication

• The ability to remember spoken communication

Answer explanation

Remember: Prose refers to the written word!

So prose literacy is related to the ability to read and understand written information.

What does document literacy refer to?

• The ability to read

• The ability to correctly interpret things like graphs and charts

• The ability to understand math and statistics

• The ability to create graphs and charts

Answer explanation

It's easy to mix up prose literacy and document literacy. One way to remember which is which is to remember that prose = writing whereas document = structure.

People with high levels of document literacy understand how to correctly "read" the structure of a document, regardless of whether that is a chart, graph, table, etc.

Which of the following is an example of document literacy?

• Reading a brochure

• Interpreting a flowchart

• Understanding a ratio

• Listening to a doctor

Answer explanation

A flowchart requires document literacy because to use a flowchart you must understand how the structure of a flowchart works: branching paths that you follow depending on your answer to a question/status.

What of the following is not an example of something covered by numeracy?

• The ability to read a table

• The ability to understand numeric information

• The ability to do basic math

• The ability to understand percentages and statistics

Answer explanation

Remember: numeracy focuses on understanding and using numbers and math.

Although fully understanding many documents requires numeracy, understanding how to read the STRUCTURE of a document is document literacy.

Which skill is necessary to calculate the amount of calories in half a serving of ice cream based on its nutrition facts label?

• Document literacy

• Numeracy

• Language proficiency

• Artistic ability

Answer explanation

The skill required is numeracy! Although understanding the structure of the label is document literacy, actually doing the math to divide the number of calories in a serving by 2 to get the number of calories in half a serving requires numeracy.

Why is health literacy important for preventative screenings?

• It is not important for preventative screenings.

• People with high levels of health literacy are more likely to get preventative screenings.

• People with low levels of health literacy are more likely to get preventative screenings.

• Preventative screenings are less effective for people with high levels of health literacy.

What is a consequence of low health literacy in terms of following medical treatments?

• People are more likely to follow treatments correctly.

• People are less likely to require medical treatments.

• People are less likely to follow treatments correctly.

• There is no consequence on how treatments are followed.