Some people may delay seeking treatment for health problems because they are embarrassed about their reading difficulties, according to new research to be published on Friday as part of National Literacy Awareness Week.
Health practitioners were surprised to learn that as many as 500,000 adults have difficulties with reading and writing, the report says.
People with these difficulties can experience embarrassment, humiliation or dangers to their health as a result, according to Mr Tommy Byrne, spokesperson for the National Adult Literacy Agency.
One person currently attending literacy classes "is terrified of going into hospitals", he said. "Previously he has been unable to understand signage and ended up interrupting consultations and getting thrown out without a chance to explain."
Another took paracetamol along with a prescribed medicine. There was an instruction with the prescribed medicine not to take paracetamol with it but the person could not read this "and had an adverse reaction as a result of the combination", Mr Byrne said.
People who asked for medication by pointing to it in the pharmacy, but who had never known its name, were "completely lost" if the design of the packaging was changed, he said.
The report will be officially launched next Friday afternoon at a conference on health and literacy in the Mater Hospital, Dublin, aimed mainly at health practitioners. It recommends that all front-line staff in hospitals and health centres should be "literacy aware" so that they can recognise and meet the needs of people with reading difficulties.
A national promotional campaign should be developed "to reach out to people who might be delaying treatment". A national health literacy board should be established and should report to the Department of Health and Children.
"Fear is a big barrier to communication," the report says. "True patient education is difficult to achieve among people with low literacy skills when there is such a reliance on the written word.
"Health practitioners need to understand that one leaflet cannot accommodate the whole patient population. People with literacy difficulties become very adept at hiding their difficulties," it says. "This means it will not always be apparent to health practitioners that instructions and advice are not being adequately relayed to low-literacy patients."
Mr Byrne said there were still places available at next Friday's conference for health practitioners by ringing 01-8554332 or sending an e-mail to literacy@nala.ie