Health Literacy and the Desire to Manage One's Own Health

Abstract

With the ever-increasing market share of direct-to-consumer (DTC) testing, projected to surpass $350 million this year, health care professionals must address the health literacy gap that exists between what the clinician knows and what the general public understands about clinical laboratory testing. Health literacy is lowest among people with lower socioeconomic status and results in poorer outcomes. However, these individuals represent those that would benefit most from valuable DTC testing. There is a need for unbiased and universally accessible tools to help improve consumers' understanding of test utility, limitations to the accuracy of results, and result interpretation.

Keywords: Clinical laboratorians; Direct-to-consumer testing; Health disparities; Health information; Health literacy; Laboratory medicine.