Quantitative literacy

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In education and literacy, quantitative literacy (also called numeracy) is "the knowledge and skills required to apply arithmetic operations, either alone or sequentially, using numbers embedded in printed materials; for example, balancing a checkbook, figuring out a tip, completing an order form, or determining the amount of interest from a loan advertisement."[1]

Health care

Comparing benefits of two treatments

Various formats have been tested to improve comprehension of quantitative comparisons by patients[2][3][4][5] and by health care professionals.[6][7]

References

  1. Irwin S. Kirsch, Ann Jungeblut, Lynn Jenkins, and Andrew Kolstad. (1993). Adult Literacy in America: a first look at the findings of the National Adult Literacy Survey, (NCES 93275). U.S. Department of Education.
  2. Sheridan SL, Pignone MP, Lewis CL (November 2003). "A randomized comparison of patients' understanding of number needed to treat and other common risk reduction formats". J Gen Intern Med 18 (11): 884–92. PMID 14687273. PMC 1494938[e]
  3. Schwartz LM, Woloshin S, Welch HG (2007). "The drug facts box: providing consumers with simple tabular data on drug benefit and harm". Med Decis Making 27 (5): 655–62. DOI:10.1177/0272989X07306786. PMID 17873258. Research Blogging.
  4. Woloshin S, Schwartz LM, Welch HG (February 2007). "The effectiveness of a primer to help people understand risk: two randomized trials in distinct populations". Ann. Intern. Med. 146 (4): 256–65. PMID 17310049[e]
  5. Stovring H, Gyrd-Hansen D, Kristiansen IS, Nexoe J, Nielsen JB (2008). "Communicating effectiveness of intervention for chronic diseases: what single format can replace comprehensive information?". BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 8: 25. DOI:10.1186/1472-6947-8-25. PMID 18565218. PMC 2467410. Research Blogging.
  6. Sheridan SL, Pignone M (2002). "Numeracy and the medical student's ability to interpret data". Eff Clin Pract 5 (1): 35–40. PMID 11874195[e]
  7. Gigerenzer G, Edwards A (September 2003). "Simple tools for understanding risks: from innumeracy to insight". BMJ 327 (7417): 741–4. DOI:10.1136/bmj.327.7417.741. PMID 14512488. PMC 200816. Research Blogging.