Health literacy is the ability to understand health information and to use that information to make good decisions about health and medical care. Health information can overwhelm even people with advanced literacy skills.~About one third of the adult population in the United States has limited health literacy (Berkman ND, Davis TC, McCormack L. Health literacy:what is it? J Health Commun. 2010; 15 Suppl 2: 9-19). Initial assessment of regulatory compliance in research studies in the UAE indicated poor understanding of medical information by patients/subjects (AAMDHREC 12/55).~Health Literacy Survey (HLS) will be conducted on adults visiting the participating UAE hospitals/clinics. The survey will be conducted by a trained bilingual healthcare professional such as a team of medical residents.~The investigators study attempts to identify the population that are unable to understand health information or are impaired in their understanding of health information.
Health Literacy is the ability to understand health information and to use that information to make good decisions about health and medical care. Health informatin can overwhelm even people with advanced literacy skills. About one third of the adult population in the United States has limited health literacy.