3.3 Health Literacy

Kathy Andresen

3.3 Health Literacy

Health Literacy Concepts

Definition: Health literacy refers to the ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use information in ways that promote and maintain good health for themselves, their families, and their communities(CDC, 2023).

Why Is Health Literacy Important?

Trust and Engagement: Using health literacy best practices builds trust and encourages individuals to engage in care and health-promoting behaviors(WHO, 2024).
Health Equity: Health literacy is connected to health equity, which aims for everyone to achieve the highest level of health possible.
Plain Language: Communicating in plain language, using preferred languages, and considering cultural context are essential for improving health literacy.

Personal Health Literacy

Empowers individuals to navigate health systems, communicate effectively with healthcare providers, and engage in preventive behaviors. Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to

Health Literacy Population Impact

(National Library of Medicine,2023)

People with low health literacy skills are more likely to experience poor health outcomes, including hospital stays and emergency room visits.
They may also make medication errors and struggle with managing chronic conditions.
Additionally, they might skip preventive services, such as flu shots.
In contrast, individuals with higher health literacy skills tend to make informed health decisions, leading to better overall health and longevity.

The video Technology Outreach to Reduce Health Disparities and Stigma describes a community based strategy to improve digital health literacy

Find: Locate relevant health information.

Understand: Comprehend health-related content.

Use: Apply information to make informed health decisions for themselves and others.

Organizational Health Literacy

Organizational health literacy focuses on how institutions and systems enable individuals to access and use health information.
It involves creating environments where people can easily find, understand, and act upon health-related information.
Organizations play a crucial role in promoting health literacy by providing clear communication, plain language materials, and culturally appropriate resources.

Digital Health Literacy

The ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise health information from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to addressing or solving a health problem (WHO, 2023).

Examples of digital health literacy:

- access a personal electronic health record
- communicate electronically with health care team
- discern reliable online health information
- use health and wellness apps