Strategies to Enhance Numeracy Skills - National Academy of Medicine

By Andrew Pleasant, Megan Rooney, Catina O’Leary, Laurie Myers, and Rima RuddMay 5, 2016 | Discussion Paper Individuals make decisions about health and well-being every day. Many of those decisions involve using and understanding numbers, and most of the decisions are made quickly, at home or at work, as a person goes about a daily routine. Even with adequate time, many people lack the skills to make good use of numerical information to help them make informed decisions (Peters et al., 2014). Health professionals and health systems also often communicate numerical information poorly, increasing the challenge (IOM, 2014).Like low health literacy (of which numeracy is a part), poor numeracy skills are widespread and affect more than just those with lower income or less education. Factors such as emotional stress (perhaps from a recent diagnosis), lack of time or confidence, high demands for numeracy skills, or simply a dislike of math can affect understanding, leading to people feel over...