ACOG Committee Opinion No. 585: Health literacy

Abstract

According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is committed to the promotion of health literacy for all. Responsibility for recognizing and addressing the problem of limited health literacy lies with all entities in the health care arena-from the system level to the health care professional.