Health-related learning

Highlights

Full 2008 SCAL results, context and analysis on health-related learning (PDF, 354 KB)

Health-related information

Among Canadians, the most popular sources of health-related information are:

  • family doctors (73%);
  • other health professionals (69%);
  • friends or family (69%); and
  • newspapers or magazines (64%). (See Figure 33.)

Figure 33: Percentage of Canadians who consult each source of health-related information

Figure 33

Source: Canadian Council on Learning. Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning, 2008

Age

Older Canadians are more likely to consult their family doctors for information, while younger Canadians are more likely to consult friends or family and the internet.

Health literacy

Most Canadians can read directions (71%) and warnings on new medicines without difficulty, but fewer than half (46%) report reading nutritional labels without difficulty.

Education and reliability of sources

Canadians with more education appear to be more discerning consumers of health-related information and they report more confidence in their health-literacy skills. (See Figure 37.)

Figure 37: Percentage of respondents who report not using sources of information due to concerns about their reliability, by education level

Figure 37

Source: Canadian Council on Learning. Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning, 2008

 

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