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2010 MAY–JUNE No. 374
June 23, 2010 [posted]

Health Literacy Search Updated with Numeracy

The Health Literacy Special Query, one of the NLM® Special Queries, was updated to include citations to articles about numeracy. This modification was made as numeracy is a growing health literacy concern discussed in the published literature. Health numeracy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to access, process, interpret, communicate, and act on numerical, quantitative, graphical, biostatistical, and probabilistic health information.

The MEDLINE®/PubMed® and Health Literacy Information Resources page displays the PubMed search strategy and provides links to other selected sources of health literacy information. The search retrieves citations to English language journal literature. Users are encouraged to use additional features of PubMed to focus the search or expand it. For example, to focus the search, consider using PubMed Limits. To retrieve a pre-calculated set of citations that are closely related to a selected citation, use the Related Citations feature.

In addition, the selected resources on the right side of the MEDLINE/PubMed Search and Health Literacy Information Resources page have been updated to include recent reports and resources.

A statement of health literacy research interests for all participating NIH Institutes and Centers, including NLM, is available. For more information about NLM grants for "Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy," see Large Research Grant (R01) information and Exploratory/Developmental Research Grants (R21) information. Grant applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov.

By Marcia Zorn
Reference and Web Services

Zorn M. Health Literacy Search Updated with Numeracy. NLM Tech Bull. 2010 May-Jun;(374):e24.