Does health literacy equal happiness? Researchers
from the University of Alabama think so (Angner, Miller, Ray, Saag, &
Allison, 2010). Their diverse community-based study of nearly 400 adults found
that health literacy was significantly associated with happiness. Consider
this- Those who have general literacy skills are more likely to have a higher
education, better income and improved self-reported health (Kutner et.al.,
2007). In addition, those who have functional health literacy report improved
health status, less hospitalization, improved outcomes of diabetes care and
significantly lower overall mortality in the elderly (Baker et al., 2007). How
does this equal happiness, you ask. The answer is freedom.
When people are able to take care of their bodies,
manage their stress and are less dependent on others to take care of them, they
are free to do the things in life that matter to them. This increased sense of
personal control is directly related to happiness (Peterson, 1999). What is
amazing about this is that it doesn’t matter who you are. People who stated
they were confident filling out medical forms on their own were happier than
those who were not confident regardless of their age, race, poverty status or
self-reported health. Just another reason to jump on the health literacy
bandwagon!
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