Abstract
Health literacy has a broad range of impacts, including whether and where a person seeks treatment and how well that patient interprets and applies clinical recommendations. Patients with headache may not seek treatment, may fail to disclose even severe pain to their physician, and may not understand or adhere to treatment. Universal precautions can be a helpful initial approach, and information styles can be modified as needed over time. Patients should be asked about headache and explanations about headache causes and treatment should be given in everyday language. The teach-back method can confirm if patients understand instructions. Health literacy can impact how patients perceive their headaches and how well they adhere to treatments. Health literacy is a two-way street; it depends on the patient's ability to understand and act on clinical information and the clinician's ability to give clear information. Language and cultural barriers can adversely impact health literacy, even in patients who otherwise have good understanding of medical advice. While health literacy can impact outcomes, those with low or very high health literacy are most likely to be non-adherent, albeit for different reasons. Clinical action plans can be valuable for those with severe headache.