Resource Highlights:
Focus on Health Literacy
This collection of selected resources offers high-quality information about health literacy. Use the tools below for further searching, or contact us for personalized assistance.
Health literacy is the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. (Source: Health.gov)
Selected Materials in the OHRC Library
American Dental Association, Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations. 2009. Health Literacy in Dentistry: Action Plan 2010–2015. Chicago, IL: American Dental Association. 9 pp.
This document provides guidance about health literacy and recommended activities to improve it. Contents include goals, objectives, and strategies in five focus areas: changing the perception of oral health, overcoming barriers by replicating effective programs and proven efforts, building the science base and accelerating science transfer, and increasing collaborations.
Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Hewitt M, Roundtable on Health Literacy. 2013. Oral Health Literacy: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. 125 pp.
This report summarizes presentations and follow-up discussions from a workshop held on March 29, 2012, in Washington, DC, to explore the field of oral health literacy. Topics include the importance of health literacy, the role of health literacy in addressing oral health problems, how oral health literacy can be assessed within care systems and within the environment, experiences of effective oral-health-literacy programs, state-based oral health initiatives, and national oral-health-literacy activities.
Brach C, Dreyer B, Schyve P, Hernandez LM, Baur C, Lemerise AJ, Parker R. 2012. Ten Attributes of a Health Literate Organization. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine. 27 pp.
This paper describes attributes of a health-literate organization, that is, an organization that makes it easier for people to navigate, understand, and use information and services to take care of their health. The paper includes information on how the attributes should be used and who should use them, as well as a list of resources.
Flanagan D, Whitehead A, Rosen-Reynoso M. 2011. Partnering to Make Oral Health Services Easier to Use for Families with CYSHCN. Boston, MA: National Center for Ease of Use of Community-Based Services. 3 items (slides, archive, captioned text).
This webinar discussed the development of the Wisconsin Special Smiles Program (WSSP), a community-based oral health system for children and adolescents with special health care needs (CASHCN). Topics included unique aspects of the program, examples of how WSSP partnered with Title V programs to deliver services, and tips on building partnerships to make services easier to use for families with CASHCN. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]
McGee J. 2010. Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective. Baltimore, MD: U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
This toolkit provides guidance about creating material that is easy for people to read, understand, and use. Contents focus on creating material intended for use by individuals eligible for or enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program and by those who serve or assist them. Topics include a reader-centered approach, writing and graphic design, testing material with readers, readability formulas, and translation.
National Maternal and Child Oral Health Policy Center. 2011. Key Oral Health Messages: Messages and Talking Points for Use with Policymakers, Stakeholders, and the Public. Washington, DC: National Maternal and Child Oral Health Policy Center. 2 pp.
This consensus document contains common themes and key messages about children's oral health developed by a workgroup of dental and health communications experts. Topics include the importance of oral health to overall health, the seriousness of the problem, the costs to society, and the importance of investing in prevention. [Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau]
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Selected Websites
Agency for Health Care Research and Quality
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Health.gov
Health Literacy Consulting
Health Literacy Out Loud
Health Resources and Services Administration
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
Find more organizations in OHRC's Organizations Database.
Resource Highlights: Focus on Nutrition. July 2012. Updated February 2013.
