Clear Communication: A NIH Health Literacy Initiative
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Health LiteracyWhat is health literacy?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.” — Source: Healthy People 2010
Individuals must possess the skills to understand information and services and use them to make appropriate decisions about health. Similar to our traditional understanding of literacy, health literacy incorporates a range of abilities: to read, comprehend, and analyze information; decode instructions, symbols, charts, and diagrams; weigh risks and benefits; and, ultimately, make decisions and take action. The concept of health literacy extends to the materials, environments, and challenges specifically associated with disease prevention and health promotion. According to Healthy People 2010, an individual is considered to be "health literate" when he or she possesses the skills to understand information and services and use them to make appropriate decisions about health. Areas commonly associated with health literacy include:
Alarmingly, these skills and strategies are absent in more than half of the U.S. population. This fact is more disturbing when one considers that these are the very skills and strategies that often lead to longer life, improved quality of life, reduction of both chronic disease and health disparities, as well as cost savings. Health literacy is estimated to cost $106-$236 billion annually [Source: Pfizer]. In addition:
Questions and Answers
Why is health literacy an issue for health communication professionals?Health communication professionals must consider literacy and all its facets when developing health materials and communication strategies for a range of diverse audiences—each with differing abilities, experiences, levels of knowledge, cultural beliefs and practices, and communication expectations. Analyzing these differences can ultimately improve health and prevent disease. In fact, helpful materials are available on many aspects of health communication, including strategies and tactics, understanding audiences, and evaluation and planning. One example is this guide available from the National Cancer Institute: Making Health Communication Programs Work: A Planner's Guide. What is the health literacy objective in Healthy People 2010?Progress can be made on objectives that have baseline, measurable data. In order to improve health literacy, health professionals will use the Healthy People 2010 strategy to track improvements over a decade. Health literacy is one of the Health Communication objectives in Healthy People 2010. It reads: "Objective 11-2. (Developmental) Improve the health literacy of persons with inadequate or marginal literacy skills. Potential data source: National Adult Literacy Survey, 2002, U.S. Department of Education." Healthy People 2010 outlines key points for achieving this objective, stating that the issue of health literacy is fundamental to efforts to reduce health disparities. Two key areas are emphasized as crucial to attaining measurable improvement:
Can better communication strategies improve health?In recent publications, Dean Schillinger, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, an associate professor of medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, identified health improvements based on improved literacy. His work focused on diabetes compliance as it relates to doctor-patient-doctor interaction and on strategies for verifying that individuals with literacy challenges understand health information. These principles may prove useful in confronting challenges in other health settings. Dr. Schillinger's publications include the following:
Where can I learn more about health literacy?Health
Literacy 1st Annual Research Conference The Health Literacy Annual Research Conference will be an interdisciplinary meeting for investigators dedicated to health literacy research. It will be an opportunity to advance the field of health literacy, a method to raise the quality of our research, and a venue for professional development. Our aim is to attract a full range of investigators engaged in health literacy research including faculty involved in a broad array of public health, health services, epidemiology, translational, and interventional research activities. The main goals of the meeting are: Advancing the
Science
Professional Development
Investigators who have an abstract selected for oral presentation at the meeting will receive a stipend for meeting attendance. International participation is also welcome. There are a limited number of stipends available to support international investigators whose work is accepted for presentation at the meeting. This meeting is coordinated with the assistance of the Institute of Medicine and will be held at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Building. Meeting proceedings will be presented to the IOM Health Literacy Roundtable. This activity has been sponsored by a grant from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) (Principal Investigator, Michael Paasche-Orlow, grant no. R13 MD003392-01), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Abstract submission is now open! Deadline 5pm (EST)
August 19, 2009. For more information, or to submit your abstracts, please email healthliteracyconference@bmc.org Abstract guidelines: 500 words or less; 1 table or figure allowed. Please include the following sections – Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
What research is being done?The NIH recognizes the need to apply research advances in such a way as to ensure improved health for all Americans. Recently NIH issued a number of trans-NIH program announcements (PARs) supporting research on health literacy. The goal of NIH-funded research is to improve scientific understanding of the nature of health literacy and its relationship to:
Research results will also serve to inform the development of materials for the public. A list of selected NIH-funded projects is available online at http://www.nih.gov/healthliteracyresearch.htm. Publications
Contact us: NIH Clear Communication InfoThis page was last reviewed on
July 15, 2009
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