Recent reports from the Institute of Medicine and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have brought increased attention to the association between literacy and health and the potential role of literacy in disparities in health care and health outcomes.1-3 Investigations conducted mainly during the past 15 years have found that adults with low literacy generally have less health-related knowledge, manifest poorer control of their chronic illnesses, are less likely to receive preventive health services, and are more likely to be hospitalized.1