October is Health Literacy Month: Working Together to Increase Health Literacy and Advance Health Equity
October is Health Literacy Month, a time when everyone involved in healthcare and patient safety initiatives in Oregon can work together to promote health literacy by raising awareness and taking action to ensure all Oregonians can access, understand, and use health information they receive to inform their health-related decisions and actions.
Health literacy is a central focus for Healthy People 2030, the fifth iteration of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Healthy People initiative. The inclusion of health literacy as a priority area is reflected in one of the initiative’s overarching goals: “to advance health equity, increase health literacy, and address social determinants of health in communities across the nation.”
To expand how we think about health literacy and work together to improve it, Healthy People 2030 addresses 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.
By recognizing the importance of organizational health literacy and taking steps to improve how information is shared with the people they serve, organizations and providers play an instrumental role in improving healthcare for all Oregonians.
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. Here are a few things 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.
Access Health Literacy Resources
For Organizations
AHRQ Pharmacy Health Literacy Center, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Building Health Literate Organizations: A Guidebook to Achieving Organizational Change, UnityPoint Health
National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
For Healthcare Professionals
Health Literacy Basics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, 2nd Edition, AHRQ
For Patients
AHRQ Patient Note Sheet, AHRQ