Health literacy in Europe: comparative results of the European health literacy survey (HLS-EU)
Kristine Sørensen, Jürgen M. Pelikan, Florian Röthlin, Kristin Ganahl, Zofia Słońska, Gerardine Doyle +4 more
European Journal of Public Health
Abstract
Background : Health literacy concerns the capacities of people to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. In spite of the growing attention for the concept among European health policymakers, researchers and practitioners, information about the status of health literacy in Europe remains scarce. This article presents selected findings from the first European comparative survey on health literacy in populations. M ethods : The European health literacy survey (HLS-EU) was conducted in eight countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain ( n = 1000 per country, n = 8000 total sample). Data collection was based on Eurobarometer standards and the implementation of the HLS-EU-Q (questionnaire) in computer-assisted or paper-assisted persona