We also know that three out of four patients don’t know the side effects of their medications and one in four patients don’t know why they are in hospital in the first place (Nicholson Thomas et al 2017). People will struggle with managing health conditions linked to that admission going forward.

People with low health literacy may find it challenging to manage long-term conditions, take their medication properly, follow healthcare professionals’ recommendations, and understand the lifestyle changes required for preventing ill-health (Lamb and Berry 2014). People with low health literacy may also find it challenging to manage the health of their children and/or anyone else they care for. In community and primary care settings, low health literacy may mean that people do not seek medical attention in a timely manner (Protheroe et al 2009). The lack of routine healthcare visits and the lack of steps taken to prevent ill-health mean that people are likely to present at more advanced stages of disease, with a higher risk of negative health outcomes including death. Patients who struggle to understand their health information are at increased risk of missing follow up appointments. Being unable to read the information about the plans post-discharge or being unable to navigate the hospital leads to missed appointments, which are a poor use of staff time and resources.

People with low health literacy are more likely than others to be admitted to hospital for urgent health issues (O’Conor et al 2020), while people who are discharged from hospital without understanding their diagnosis and/or new medicines are more likely to be readmitted (Cloonan et al 2013, Bailey et al 2015).