Health and older Americans

Report released yesterday by the National Institute on Aging and the National Center for Health Statistics, among others from the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics -- Older Americans 2008: Key Indicators of Well-Being, including a special section on literacy and health literacy

More:
- the press release
- PowerPoint slides of charts
- US News & World Report article on the report

African American health literacy

Aetna has put out an African American history calendar this year focusing on health literacy. Each day features facts from African American history (on today in 1924, jazz singer Sarah Vaughan was born) and each month features pictures and profiles of individuals involved in promoting health literacy in different venues (including December - in the library, covered more in an item here in the Charleston Post & Courier).

The introduction to the calendar, Marginal literacy: a growing issue in health care, further discusses both literacy and health literacy issues among African Americans

You can download the calendar from the Aetna site or order your own fancy copy from the company for $4.

(Also, to find literacy programs focused on basic reading proficiency in your area, consult America's Literacy Directory)