Numerical reasoning in judgments and decision making about health / edited by Britta L. Anderson & Jay Schulkin.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Machine generated contents note: Introduction / Britta L. Anderson and Jay Schulkin; 1. Measuring numeracy / Edward T. Cokely, Saima Ghazal and Rocio Garcia-Retamero; 2. Collective statistical illiteracy in health / Jan Multmeier, Wolfgang Gaissmaier and Odette Wegwarth; 3. Physicians' understanding and use of numeric information / Britta L. Anderson and Jay Schulkin; 4. Patient numeracy: what do patients need to recognize, think, or do with health numbers? / Brian J. Zikmund-Fisher, Gillian Mayman and Angela Fagerlin; 5. Application of numeracy in diabetes mellitus chronic disease care / Jillian Berkman and Kerri L. Cavanaugh; 6. Numeracy and genetic screening / Stephanie Dukhovny and Louise Wilkins-Haug; 7. Using visual aids to help people with low numeracy make better decisions / Rocio Garcia-Retamero and Edward T. Cokely; 8: Anticipating barriers to the communication of critical information / Ellen Peters; 9. Rational healthcare / Ronald Paulus and Walter F. Stewart; 10. A review of theories of numeracy: psychological mechanisms and implications for medical decision making / Valerie F. Reyna and Priscila G. Brust-Renck; 11. Do the numbers help patients decide? Ethical and empirical challenges for evaluating the impact of quantitative information / Peter H. Schwartz; Conclusion / Britta L. Anderson and Jay Schulkin.

"Every day thousands of individuals need to make critical decisions about their health based on numerical information, yet recent surveys have found that over half the population of the United States is unable to complete basic math problems. How does this lack of numerical ability (also referred to as low numeracy, quantitative illiteracy, or statistical illiteracy) impact healthcare? What can be done to help people with low numeracy skills? Numerical Reasoning in Judgments and Decision Making about Health addresses these questions by examining and explaining the impact of quantitative illiteracy on healthcare and in specific healthcare contexts, and discussing what can be done to reduce these healthcare disparities. This book will be a useful resource for professionals in many health fields including academics, policy makers, physicians and other healthcare providers"--Provided by publisher.