Health Literacy
The ability to find, understand, and use information and services for health decisions.
Health literacy includes the ability to find, understand, and use health information and services to inform decisions and actions. It is also shaped by how organizations communicate: a confusing form or inaccessible service can create barriers even for a person with strong reading skills.
Useful health communication puts the main action first, explains unfamiliar terms, uses clear structure, and makes numbers meaningful with a denominator and time period. Offer interpretation, accessible formats, and a way to ask questions. A teach-back request—asking someone to describe the plan in their own words—can reveal where an explanation needs improvement.
Check who produced a recommendation, when it was updated, whom it applies to, and what evidence or uncertainty is described. Personal decisions depend on an individual's history and circumstances, so general information cannot replace discussion with an appropriate health professional. In an emergency, use local emergency services.
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