Editorial: The Social-Ecological Context of Health Literacy

Most recent empirical findings from the WHO European Region indicate a limited ability to find, understand, critically assess and apply health-related information for between 25% (Slovenia) and 72% (Germany) of the adult population (1). Moreover, it has been widely shown that limited health literacy is associated with poor health behavior, lower use of health screenings, more hospitalization and lower general health (2, 3). With regard to economic effects, limited health literacy causes additional costs that range from 3 to 5% of the annual total health care costs (4). Given these findings, it is not surprising that health literacy is high on the public health agenda with 19 Member States of the WHO European Region having a health literacy policy on a national or local level