Many Filipinos have limited health literacy which can hinder their ability to effectively manage their health, according to the National Health Literacy Survey (NHLS), the fi rst nationwide survey on the prevalence of health literacy in the Philippines. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to fi nd, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. Low health literacy is associated with more hospitalizations, greater use of emergency care, decreased use of preventive services, poorer ability to interpret labels and health messages, poorer health status, higher mortality, and higher healthcare costs.
On the other hand, a high level of health literacy among the general population can reduce sickness (morbidity), death (mortality), and disability, as well as enhance health equity. The NHLS is a project of the Department of Health (DoH) in cooperation with the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology. Results of the survey were published in the April 2022 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Health Literacy Research and Practice .
Conducted by the College of Public Health Foundation of the University of the Philippines-Manila, the cross-sectional nationwide survey involved 2,303 randomly selected Filipinos aged 15 to 70 years. The mean age of the respondents was 40, and the majority were women (74%), urban .
