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Older Adults: Designing Health Information to Meet their Needs

Older adults being counseled by a health professional. Do you want to communicate health messages to an older adult audience? Whether you're developing print or online information, broadcast media or delivering a health presentation, this web site is for you. This section will provide tools and resources to help you improve your communication with older adults and address health literacy barriers.
Older Adults: Designing Health Information to Meet their Needs

Older Adults: Health Literacy Skills

Why Is Health Literacy Important For Older Adults?
The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) indicates the following about older adults' health literacy skills:
  • 71% of adults older than age 60 had difficulty in using print materials
  • 80% had difficulty using documents such as forms or charts
  • 68% had difficulty with interpreting numbers and doing calculations
We can improve how we communicate with older adults and create materials and messages that match their health literacy skills.

Podcast

Dr. Lynda Anderson, Director of CDC's Healthy Aging Program

In this podcast, Dr. Lynda Anderson, Director of CDC's Healthy Aging Program discusses the importance of addressing health literacy issues for older adults.
Podcast Transcript

 
 
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  • Page last reviewed: August 22, 2011
  • Page last updated: August 22, 2011
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