#IlliteraCity and Idris Elba

• Two thirds of the world’s 750 million illiterate adults are women. This problem repeats through the generations, from parent to child. 31 million girls will never even get the chance to go to school. The repercussions of illiteracy will be felt throughout these girls’ lives, perpetuating issues of gender discrimination and even awareness of their basic human rights.

• 51% of people who are homeless lack the basic literacy skills needed for everyday life. Root causes of homelessness are unemployment and poverty, both of which are widespread amongst the illiterate population. Difficulty reading also makes it harder to find somewhere to live and understand tenancy agreements.

• From reading a job advert to writing a CV, finding a job is almost impossible if you cannot read or write. Unemployment rates are four times higher than for the literate population. 250 million children lack basic reading and writing skills, leaving them unprepared and excluded from a future workforce.

• Prisoners are four times more likely to re-offend without active participation in literacy programmes. However, four out of five people behind bars do not have access to education.

• Literacy equips people with the knowledge and an understanding about how to contain and prevent diseases. For example, women with post-primary education are five times more likely to be educated on the topic of HIV and AIDS.

• The inability to read and write keeps residents from knowing what they are entitled to, and how to demand it. It limits their ability to participate politically in society and denies them a voice. Isolated from the rest of the world, they struggle to learn about other realities or change their society for the better.
   

In Canada, health literacy is defined as "the ability to access, comprehend, evaluate and communicate information as a way to promote, maintain and improve health in a variety of settings across the life-course." 

Health literacy is an essential life skill. In Canada, 60% of adults and 88% of seniors have difficulty with health literacy. 

The following are some examples of what can be done to help people with low levels of health literacy:
- Match a practicing physician with a literacy learner to produce user-friendly signage in a hospital  
- Form a partnership between a nurse and a local First Nations group to produce a video for health care practitioners explaining the local culture and promoting cultural competence 
- Set up a computer with plain language websites in a doctor’s office reception area  
- Create a video to help literacy learners navigate their way to the doctor’s office
- Use a teach-back strategy to ensure patients understood the concepts of diabetes self-management and control 
- Promote decision-making and the ability to critically assess information by encouraging patients to ask clarifying questions such as “Have you experienced any side effects that you think may be related to these medications?” 
- Use prompt cards to help literacy learners ask questions and seek clarification when information from their physicians was not understood.