Overview of reading and literacy research and applications in nutrition education

Abstract

Literacy requires information processing skills in addition to the ability to read and write. Estimates of the prevalence of illiteracy in the United States vary according to the criteria used. Economic, social and cultural factors contribute to higher rates of illiteracy in some population subgroups. Tools for quantitative and qualitative measures of literacy skills have been developed. Nutrition education materials are often written at levels that are too difficult for low-literate readers. Educational materials are more effective when they are tailored to the cognitive abilities and learning styles of the intended audience. The readability of a given text can be crudely estimated by several formulas that use sentence length and multi-syllable words to indicate complex syntax and difficult vocabulary. Techniques such as Cloze and signaled stopping provide more direct measures of readability. The Language Experience Approach has been adapted to aid in developing materials for specific low-literate target groups. Examples of existing low-literacy materials and guides for educators interested in developing materials for low-literate audiences are cited. Practical techniques are needed for measuring literacy skills of target clientele and readability of nutrition education materials.