People with low health literacy are at increased risk for which outcome?

• A. Higher income
• B. Longer life
• C. Poor health
• D. Greater education

Answer: (C)

Low health literacy means difficulty obtaining, processing, and understanding basic health information to make appropriate health decisions. When someone struggles to understand instructions, they’re more likely to mismanage medications, miss preventive screenings, skip follow-up care, or fail to navigate the healthcare system effectively. These barriers lead to worse management of chronic conditions, more complications, and overall poorer health. So, the outcome that reflects increased risk with low health literacy is poor health. Higher income or greater education typically correlate with better health literacy, and longer life is not the expected result for those with limited health literacy.