We reviewed 4182 new titles and abstracts published since
2003. Fifty-eight articles were retained for full review, and 13 met the
inclusion criteria. Eleven articles from the systematic review from 1980
to 2003 met the inclusion criteria, giving us a total of 24 articles. Children
with low literacy generally had worse health behaviors. Parents
with low literacy had less health knowledge and had behaviors that
were less advantageous for their children’s health compared with parents
with higher literacy. Children whose parents had low literacy
often had worse health outcomes, but we found mixed results for the
relationship of literacy to the use of health care services. Interventions
found that improving written materials can increase health knowledge,
and combining good written materials with brief counseling can
improve behaviors including adherence. The average quality of the
studies was fair to good.