October is Health Literacy Month
October is Health Literacy Month! We are joining individuals and organizations across the country to promote the importance of health literacy to patients to improve and maintain their health.
Healthy People 2030, the fifth iteration of the US Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People initiative, has expanded how we think about health literacy, to include two important aspects—personal health literacy and organizational health literacy.
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.
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.
While patients can take steps to become more health literate, how they find, understand, and use health information and services depends on the health literacy of organizations. Everyone involved in healthcare delivery can take basic steps to help improve how their organizations make health information and services available to the people they serve and, ultimately, reduce the risk of serious adverse events and encourage a culture of patient safety. By recognizing the importance of organizational health literacy, organizations and providers play an instrumental role in improving healthcare for all patients, and all Oregonians.¹
What You Can DO
Your healthcare organization can invest in programs, policies, and initiatives that support efforts to improve both personal health literacy and organizational health literacy. There are publications, tools, and resources to help your organization get started.
Learn More About Organizational Health Literacy
Integrating Health Literacy, Cultural Competence, and Language Access Services: Workshop Summary
A 2016 National Academies Press report summary of a public workshop on the integration of health literacy, cultural competence, and language access services to increase health equity and reduce health disparities.
Organizational Health Literacy: Quality Improvement Measures with Expert Consensus
A 2019 Health Literacy Research and Practice article that identifies 22 measures healthcare organizations can use to improve communication and make it easier for patients to access health information and services, participate in their care, and improve and maintain their health.
Find Health Literacy Resources
For Organizations
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
UnityPoint Health
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
For Healthcare Professionals
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
For Patients
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
References
¹ Rosenblatt, Michael, and Laurie Myers. “Communication Is Part of the Cure: Improving Health Literacy,” Journal of Health Communication 21, no. sup1 (2016):1-2.