Over the last two decades it has become clear that there is a strong relationship between literacy and health. It is known, for example, that people who are less literate are more likely to have poorer mental and physical health than those who are more literate. It is also known that people with lower levels of literacy have difficulty reading medication prescriptions, baby formula instructions, safety information, and other written material, which has a direct effect on their health and safety. In addition, the research suggests that literacy has strong indirect effects on health by influencing the kinds of jobs people are able to obtain and their income, which, in turn, has a large impact on both their health and quality of life. So it seems clear that general levels of literacy can affect the health of individuals and populations. A U.S. Institute of Medicine report identified the education system as one of three points of intervention to address problems related to "health literacy," and presented both findings and recommendations for the educational system. (Contains 1 figure and 13 notes.)