Improving Health Literacy in Your Community
What is Health Literacy?
Chances are, you’ve seen lots of flyers and infographics about COVID-19. Maybe these flyers are telling you to wash your hands, or how to practice social distancing. By engaging with these materials, you’ve participated in health literacy. Health literacy is the amount that someone can find, understand, and communicate health information to make appropriate decisions about their health. Health literacy is very important in communities; it’s what allows people to gain the skills and knowledge they need to best take care of themselves and their families. It also helps us to prevent health problems and protect ourselves and communities when problems arise.
Why Should We Improve Health Literacy?
Nearly 36 percent of adults in the U.S. have low health literacy, with higher rates found among lower-income Americans eligible for Medicaid. In addition, minorities, rural populations, and people without a high school diploma all have higher rates of below average health literacy. People with low health literacy may have higher medical costs, increased ER visits and hospital admissions, and decreased access to health care. It is especially important to improve health literacy in safetynet populations where risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressureare common.
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Health literacy and COVID-19
With new recommendations about COVID-19 coming out everyday, it’s important for communities to be able to understand and take action on the knowledge they are receiving. Without proper health literacy, misinformation and fear about COVID-19 could arise, and lack of information puts individuals in danger of spreading the virus to their friends, families, and loved ones.
Communicating Health Information to Your Community
If you are a leader in your community or someone who is looking to educate themselves and others about COVID-19 or any health topic, it is important to carefully choose the right resource to best impact your target audience. First, think about what characteristics your community has. Ask yourself:
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Is this a rural or urban town? Do I want to target children? Adults? The elderly? Does my audience have access to the internet? What is their education level? How does my community usually receive their information?
These are just a small sample of questions it's important to ask when selecting the appropriate resource or creating resources of your own. Once you have a list of resources, make sure they follow these guidelines:
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Use plain and clear language-the average American reads at a 5th grade level
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Short sentences and simple messages
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Use easy to understand numbers and graphs to show information
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Organize ideas clearly with obvious headings
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Lots of white space, with less text
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Bullets or graphics, to break up the information
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Large and easy to read font
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Remember to post your chosen resources at places most likely to be seen by your community like in church bulletins, grocery stores, drive through lines, public transportation, and any other areas that the people you are trying to reach are likely to visit.
Comfortable with the idea of health literacy and how you can promote it within your community?
Head back to our recommended resources to find materials right for you!