DGS ranks Portugal among the countries with the best level of health literacy
Portugal is among the countries with the best level of health literacy, according to a study carried out by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) under the Action Plan for Health Literacy 2019-2021.
“Portugal is the country where the highest percentage of “sufficient level” of Health Literacy was recorded: 65%. The safeguards even set 5% of people at an “excellent level”. Only 7.5% of people were classified with a inadequate level and 22% people were classified with a problematic level, “referred the DGS in a statement issued this Saturday.
This assessment is part of an investigation called HLS19 organized by the European consortium Action Network to Measure Population Literacy and Organizational Health (M-POHL, in its English acronym).
According to the study, seven out of 10 people “have high levels (“sufficient” and “excellent”) of health literacy.”
“The “understanding of information” aspect has the highest levels, exceeding 75% categorized as having “sufficient” and “excellent” levels of health literacy, according to the DGS.
The entity led by Graça Freitas also highlights that “Health Literacy associated with vaccination exceeded 70% of people categorized as “sufficient” and “excellent”.
The DGS also indicates that the results obtained “progress an increase in the high levels of literature on population health, when compared to previous studies”.
“In Portugal, this study involved a representative sample of the Portuguese population aged 16 and over”, also referred to the DGS.