This study examines relationships between literacy, learning and health, and sets out to answer the following questions:
1. What are the literacy, language and numeracy demands placed on people in health-care settings?
2. What are the difficulties that adult literacy, language and numeracy (ALLN) students experience when accessing health-related information and when dealing with texts such as registration or consent forms? What strategies do they use to overcome these?
3. How do ALLN students find out about any health matters that concern them? What sources of information do they use – for example do they read magazines, watch TV or use the internet?
4. How do teachers and students think of and respond to health as a topic for ALLN?