National Action Plan to Improve Health
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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.
This National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy seeks to
engage organizations, professionals, policymakers, communities, individuals,
and families in a linked, multisector effort to improve health literacy. The
plan is based on the principles that (1) everyone has the right to health
information that helps them make informed decisions and (2) health services
should be delivered in ways that are understandable and beneficial to health,
longevity, and quality of life. The vision informing this plan is of a society
- Provides everyone with access to accurate and actionable health
- Delivers person-centered health information and services
- Supports lifelong learning and skills to promote good health
Two decades of research indicate that today's health information is
presented in a way that isn't usable by most Americans. Nearly 9 out of 10
adults have difficulty using the everyday health information that is routinely
available in our health care facilities, retail outlets, media, and
communities.1, 2, 3
Without clear information and an understanding of prevention and
self-management of conditions, people are more likely to skip necessary medical
tests. They also end up in the emergency room more often, and they have a hard
time managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.1
Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity
to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed
to make appropriate health decisions.4 Limited
health literacy affects people of all ages, races, incomes, and education
levels, but the impact of limited health literacy disproportionately affects
lower socioeconomic and minority groups. It affects people's ability to search
for and use health information, adopt healthy behaviors, and act on important
public health alerts. Limited health literacy is also associated with worse
health outcomes and higher costs.5
This report contains seven goals that will improve health literacy and
suggests strategies for achieving them:
- Develop and disseminate health and safety information that is
accurate, accessible, and actionable
- Promote changes in the health care system that improve health
information, communication, informed decisionmaking, and access to health
- Incorporate accurate, standards-based, and developmentally
appropriate health and science information and curricula in child care and
education through the university level
- Support and expand local efforts to provide adult education,
English language instruction, and culturally and linguistically appropriate
health information services in the community
- Build partnerships, develop guidance, and change policies
- Increase basic research and the development, implementation, and
evaluation of practices and interventions to improve health literacy
- 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.
- Nielsen-Bohlman, L., Panzer, A. M.,
& Kindig, D. A. (Eds.). (2004). Health literacy: A prescription to end
confusion. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
- 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
- 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
175204). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- 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.
- 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.
Last revised: June 28, 2010