TY - JOUR AU - Miller, Lisa M. Soederberg TI - Cognitive and motivational factors support health literacy and acquisition of new health information in later life JF - California Agriculture JO - Calif Agr Y1 - 2010/10/01 VL - 64 IS - 4 SP - 189 EP - 194 PB - University of California Agriculture and Nature Resources SN - 0008-0845 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3733/ca.v064n04p189 L3 - 10.3733/ca.v064n04p189 AB - Health literacy refers to the ability to read, understand and use health information to maintain or improve one's health. Health literacy skills have been linked to outcomes such as medication adherence, improved health and decreased health-care costs. Health literacy is particularly low among older adults. Given demographic projections that 20% of the U.S. population will be over age 65 by 2030, there is a pressing need to understand health literacy in later life. We present such a framework, as well as data from two studies that show how cognitive and motivational factors support one aspect of health literacy, namely, the acquisition of new health information. A clearer understanding of these issues will provide insight for targeting educational interventions designed to increase health literacy among aging adults.