JOE FOYLE,
Sir, - Your Editorial of September 10th commends the National Adult Literacy Agency's idea that a health literacy board should be established to advise the Department of Health and Children. This would aim to lessen the health damage that may be caused by reading difficulties.
One simple measure would help immediately. This would require that in medical instruction leaflets all words of more than two syllables must be sectioned. For example: paracetamol would be printed para/ceta/mol. Adult reading difficulties are due almost entirely to an inability to sound long words. - Yours, etc.,
JOE FOYLE,
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Sandford Road,
Dublin 6.