NEOMED Library: Consumer Health: Health Literacy Resources

Health Literacy Introduction

Health literacy is the ability to read, understand, and act on health care information.

Healthy People 2010 defines health literacy as:

the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.

The AMA Council of Scientific Affairs more specifically defines functional health literacy as:

the ability to read and comprehend prescription bottles, appointment slips, and the other essential health-related materials required to successfully function as a patient.

Health Literacy Resources

CDC: Health Literacy
Website with information and tools to improve health literacy and public health.
Health Literacy at health.gov
Overview of health literacy with tools, reports and research, and related resources.
Health Literacy Month
"Be a health literacy hero!" The official website for Health Literacy Month.
Health Literacy Outreach
Overview of health literacy outreach by Penny Glassman of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region, with definitions, facts, and resources.
Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit
Toolkit provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for healthcare professionals with forms, posters, and other materials to help health consumers.
Ohio Health Literacy Partners
Ohio Health Literacy Partners (OHLP) is a statewide coalition dedicated to empowering Ohioans to make informed health choices through improved health literacy.
Quick Guide to Health Literacy
Information on the association between health literacy and health outcomes.
Plain Language Thesaurus
The Plain Language Thesaurus allows you to find easy to understand alternatives to words that patients might not comprehend.
Health Literacy Online
This guide from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion takes the easy-to-read concept and applies it to web design. It provides suggestions on how to communicate clearly and make sure that materials are seen.

Talking with Patients

Teach-Back Video
The teach back method is often advocated as a way to confirm that a patient understands medical instructions and it may also improve retention of information. This video gives two examples of the teach back with a patient.
Ask Me 3
This program is designed to improve communication between patients and health care providers, encourage patients to become active members of their health care team, and promote improved health outcomes. The program encourages patients to ask their health care providers three questions:
What is my main problem?
What do I need to do?
Why is it important for me to do this?
Culture Clues- University of Washington Medical Center
Culture Clues™ are tip sheets for clinicians, designed to increase awareness about concepts and preferences of patients from specific diverse cultures.
HRSA’s Effective Healthcare Communication 100
Free online go-at-your-own-pace course. The five modules take approximately five hours to complete.
Working with Your Older Patient: A Clinician's Handbook - National Institute on Aging
What Did the Doctor Say?: Improving Health Literacy to Protect Patient Safety – The Joint Commission
The Experts: How to Improve Doctor-Patient Communication
This is a Wall Street Journal article giving the insights of doctors in their own words. A swath of perspectives.

Writing Easy-to-Read Materials

Simply Put - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The guidance in Simply Put helps you transform complicated scientific and technical information into communication materials your audiences can relate to and understand. The guide provides practical ways to organize information and use language and visuals.
Clear & Simple - National Institute of Health
This guide, Clear & Simple, is designed to assist health communicators in developing audience-appropriate information and communicating effectively with people with low-literacy skills. It outlines a process—five standard steps—for developing health information materials. Planning questions are included for each step.
Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
The Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective is a health literacy resource from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This 11-part Toolkit provides a detailed and comprehensive set of tools to help you make written material in printed formats easier for people to read, understand, and use.
Plain Language Alternatives
This list of plain language alternatives (at the 4th or 5th grade reading level) for medical and other high‐level difficult terms is intended for the use of all those communicating with people who have weak literacy skills.
How to Write Easy-to-Read Health Materials
This guide provides step-by-step instructions for writing easy-to-ready materials for low literacy patients. Bulleted lists are used for simple reference from planning and research to evaluation and improvement. Included are links to readability software and other guides.

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Consumer Health

Health Literacy Introduction

Health Literacy Resources

Talking with Patients

Writing Easy-to-Read Materials