A level that is too low among 44% of the French
And the results are weak. Thus, 44% of adults encounter difficulties in the independent use of health information – 30% have a “problematic” level, 14% have an “inadequate” level. “Inadequate levels of literacy are associated with a perceived unfavorable social status, financial difficulties and chronic health problems,” specifies Public Health France.
Furthermore, 73% of adults have difficulty navigating the health care system, with “great difficulty” among 49%. Among these difficulties, respondents point out the following problems:
defend themselves if the care provided does not meet their expectations; to know if the medical service can meet their expectations in terms of care for the majority of the French people
Regarding digital health literacy, 72% of French people say they have difficulty accessing, understanding and using online information. Finding information, assessing its reliability and relevance, fear of a hidden commercial connection, these are all problems raised by the respondents.
Finally, 29% of adults say they have difficulty communicating with healthcare professionals. This refers to difficulties in understanding information, expressing opinions to carers and having enough time with your doctor.
Make information available to everyone
“This work, which will be renewed during the next survey in 2024-2025, should contribute to a better consideration of literacy levels in the development and dissemination of campaigns and tools for prevention and health promotion, in the perspective of reducing social inequalities in health,” said Dr. .Caroline Semaille, Director General of Social Health Inequalities. This includes taking into account all levels of health literacy in the development of prevention and health promotion measures, but also raising awareness among health stakeholders about the proper transfer of information.
With this in mind, Public Health France has set up an “Information accessible to all” section, with tools for people who have difficulty accessing information.
*Research on health literacy 2019-2021. (HLS19) was specially conducted under the auspices of WHO/Europe. The survey was conducted online in May 2020 and January 2021 among 2,003 adults who are representative of the French population. According to Public Health France, the French results are similar to those of the 15 other countries that participated in the study.
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