This guide provides links to resources on health literacy in the United States and guides for clear health communication.
The 7th annual Health Literacy in Action Conference (HLiA) will showcase practice and policy ideas to advance health literacy and health equity. This year's virtu al conference will be held on October 8, 2024 from 11:00am - 3:00pm.The regular registration fee is $49; student fee is $25.
Who should attend: Public health and healthcare practitioners; health communication, education, and literacy practitioners; health information creators and distributors; social services providers; and community, consumer, and patient advocates.
The conference is co-sponsored by Institute for Healthcare Advancement and the Horowitz Center for Health Literacy.
Click here for more information and to register.
Health literacy is defined as the ability to read, understand, and act on health care information. A number of important studies have linked low health literacy in the U.S. to low quality of health, low patient compliance, and disparities in the quality of health care. These study results are not surprising given the complexity of medical terminology and biomedical concepts, coupled with the challenges of navigating the health care system.
The average American adult reads at an 8th grade level. However, 20% of Americans, mainly the elderly, disadvantaged, inner city residents and immigrants, read at the 5th grade level or below. Medical information is typically written at an 11th or 12th grade level, and is therefore not accessible to a large number of people residing in the United States.
While it is important to understand the scope and consequences of low health literacy, it is imperative that providers of health information take responsibility for clear health communication. The prior puts the onus on the individual to struggle to understand medical information; the latter lays the responsibility for creating jargon-free, easy to understand information on the creator of the information. This guide links to resources that assist the health care information provider communicate clearly and effectively.
Health literacy is a central focus of Healthy People 2030. One of the initiative’s overarching goals demonstrates this focus: “Eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all.”
This plan seeks to engage organizations, professionals, policymakers, communities, individuals, and families in a linked, multi-sector effort to improve health literacy.This report contains seven goals that will improve health literacy and suggests strategies for achieving them.
Health literacy is the product of individuals’ capacities and the health literacy–related demands and complexities of the health care system. System changes are needed to align health care demands better with the public’s skills and abilities.
National Center for Education Statistics. The first release of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) health literacy results. The results are based on assessment tasks designed specifically to measure the health literacy of adults living in the United States.
The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy is a nationally representative assessment of English literacy among American adults age 16 and older.
Full text of the publication from the Institute of Medicine of the National AcademiesCenter for Health Care Strategies. The sheets define health literacy, describe its impact on health outcomes, provide strategies to prepare appropriate educational materials to assist low-literate consumers, and provide resources for additional health literacy information and publications.
Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). In this report, commissioned by the Institute of Medicine, the CHCS identifies provisions in the ACA that directly and/or indirectly address health literacy.