October is Health Literacy Month

Posted by Carolyn Martin on October 12th, 2015 Posted in: Health Literacy

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This year’s theme for Health Literacy Month 2015 is “Be a Health Literacy Hero”.  Whether you’re an individual or an organization, promoting health literacy makes you a hero.

Health literacy has been in the spotlight in recent years and is part of a growing movement to improve communication between patients and clinicians, reduce medical errors, lower medical expenses, and reduce health disparities.

What is health literacy?  According to Healthy People, “Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”

A person’s health literacy may affect their ability to navigate the health care system such as filling out forms, understanding the mathematical concept of risk for a disease, compliance with medication or other medical services.

Though a person’s literacy may be a factor in their health literacy, no one is exempt from low health literacy.  The health care world is a very foreign place even for those who are well educated.  Everyone’s health literacy level can drop just by hearing a diagnosis, having an emergency, or being in an unfamiliar health care setting.

A number of resources are available for libraries and others who want to work towards increasing health literacy.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine offers information on health literacy with several links to several informative and valuable resources.

The Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (CAPHIS)   of the Medical Library Association whose purpose is to provide librarians with the tools and resources needed to focus on the information needs of the lay person.

Healthy People emphasizes that health information must be accurate, accessible and actionable.  Their National Plan to Improve Health Literacy is a guide to engage people at all levels to participate in the increased efforts of improving the health literacy in this country.

Health.gov provides information on health literacy and communication including a Health Literate Care Model.

The CDC has a host of information for action plans, information by state, including information on how to create materials that improve communication.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) includes a toolkit as well as other information for clinicians to integrate in their work.

Join a health literacy listserv  sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Advancement.

The responsibility of ensuring that health information is made accessible, is communicated clearly and understandably, and can be used to make appropriate decisions affecting a persons’ health lies with many including clinicians, public health professionals, healthcare systems, educators and librarians.  Working together and partnering with various organizations to improve the health literacy of those in our communities will make for more effective healthcare and healthier communities.  So, use these tools and be a Health Information Hero!