Patient and practitioner literacy and women's health: a global view from the closing decade 1990-2000.

The health status of women is partly attributable to literacy. This paper presents an overview of 106 articles that include discussion of the relative impact of literacy on women's health worldwide. This synthesis reflects ways in which health status of women has been reported across ethnicity, age, formal education, cultural beliefs about health, access to healthcare information and services, and prevalence of various health conditions in different communities. A mother's knowledge and perception as a caretaker of her children's health, and the impact of the education and perception of the healthcare practitioner on his or her efficacy as conduits for women's health education will also be addressed. Models and recommendations are noted.