Six Healthy People objectives — developed by the Health Communication and Health Information Technology Workgroup — are related to health literacy:
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Increase the proportion of adults whose health care provider checked their understanding
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Decrease the proportion of adults who report poor communication with their health care provider
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Increase the proportion of people who say their online medical record is easy to understand
How does Healthy People define health literacy?
Healthy People 2030 addresses both personal health literacy and organizational health literacy and provides the following definitions:
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Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
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Organizational health literacy is the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
These definitions are a change from the health literacy definition used in Healthy People 2010 and Healthy People 2020: “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 new definitions:
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Emphasize people’s ability to use health information rather than just understand it
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Focus on the ability to make “well-informed” decisions rather than “appropriate” ones
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Incorporate a public health perspective
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Acknowledge that organizations have a responsibility to address health literacy
Learn more about the history of Healthy People’s health literacy definitions.
Personal health literacy
Healthy People 2030’s definition of personal health literacy is aligned with the concept that people’s health literacy can be assessed at a given point in time. Such a definition is important for conducting both population studies and research on interventions aimed at ensuring equal access to information and services for people with limited literacy skills.
The new definition — with its emphasis on the use of health information and its public health perspective — may also prompt new ways of studying and promoting personal health literacy. In addition, it encourages efforts to address the skills that help people move from understanding to action and from a focus on their own health to a focus on the health of their communities.
Organizational health literacy
By adopting a definition for organizational health literacy, Healthy People acknowledges that personal health literacy is contextual and that producers of health information and services have a role in improving health literacy. The definition also emphasizes organizations’ responsibility to equitably address health literacy, in line with Healthy People 2030’s overarching goals.
In addition, including a definition for organizational health literacy in Healthy People aligns with the HHS National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy.
From: https://health.gov/our-work/national-health-initiatives/health-literacy/national-action-plan-improve-health-literacy
National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy
The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy seeks to engage organizations, professionals, policymakers, communities, individuals, and families in a linked, multi-sector effort to improve health literacy. The Action Plan is based on 2 core principles:
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All people have the right to health information that helps them make informed decisions
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Health services should be delivered in ways that are easy to understand and that improve health, longevity, and quality of life
The Action Plan contains 7 goals that will improve health literacy and strategies for achieving them:
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Develop and disseminate health and safety information that is accurate, accessible, and actionable
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Promote changes in the health care system that improve health information, communication, informed decision-making, and access to health services
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Incorporate accurate, standards-based, and developmentally appropriate health and science information and curricula in child care and education through the university level
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Support and expand local efforts to provide adult education, English language instruction, and culturally and linguistically appropriate health information services in the community
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Build partnerships, develop guidance, and change policies
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Increase basic research and the development, implementation, and evaluation of practices and interventions to improve health literacy
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Increase the dissemination and use of evidence-based health literacy practices and interventions
Many of the strategies highlight actions that particular organizations or professions can take to further these goals. It will take everyone working together in a linked and coordinated manner to improve access to accurate and actionable health information and usable health services. By focusing on health literacy issues and working together, we can improve the accessibility, quality, and safety of health care; reduce costs; and improve the health and quality of life of millions of people in the United States.
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Suggested Citation
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2010). National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy. Washington, DC: Author.
Footnotes
1 Nielsen-Bohlman, L., Panzer, A. M., & Kindig, D. A. (Eds.). (2004). Health literacy: A prescription to end confusion.Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
2 Kutner, M., Greenberg, E., Jin, Y., & Paulsen, C. (2006). The health literacy of America's adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2006-483). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
3 Rudd, R. E., Anderson, J. E., Oppenheimer, S., & Nath, C. (2007). Health literacy: An update of public health and medical literature. In J. P. Comings, B. Garner, & C. Smith. (Eds.), Review of adult learning and literacy (vol. 7) (pp 175–204). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
4 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy People 2010 (2nd ed.) [with Understanding and Improving Health (vol. 1) and Objectives for Improving Health (vol. 2)]. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
5 Berkman, N. D., DeWalt, D. A., Pignone, M. P., Sheridan, S. L., Lohr, K. N., Lux, L., et al. (2004). Literacy and health outcomes(AHRQ Publication No. 04-E007-2). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.