American Dental Association. 2007. Oral health literacy: Better communication for improved oral health. Chicago, IL: American Dental Association.
This brochure provides a brief overview of oral health health literacy and its importance in patient information and decision-making. It offers tips for the dental team on how to recognize the need for assistance and how to aid patients in communicating about their oral health and treatment.
Barzel R. 2007. A way with words: Guidelines for writing oral health materials for audiences with limited literacy. Washington, DC: National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center.
This tip sheet provides ideas to help those who produce oral health educational materials make the materials easy for everyone to understand. It offers suggestions for how to choose words; set an appropriate tone; and craft sentences, paragraphs, lists, and headings that communicate most effectively with people with limited literacy. Suggestions for how to design documents and how to present unfamiliar terminology are also presented.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009. Health literacy for public health professionals. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This online training introduces public health professionals to the fundamentals of health literacy and demonstrate the importance of health literacy within public health practice.
Kutner M, Greenberg E, Jim Y, Paulsen C. 2006. The health literacy of America's adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics
This report examines the relationship between health literacy and various self-reported background factors. The report examines how health literacy varies across groups with different demographic characteristics as well as the relationship between health literacy and highest level of educational attainment and poverty status, and it explores the relationship between literacy and overall health.
U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. 2007. Unified health communication 101: Addressing health literacy, cultural competency, and limited English proficiency. Rockville, MD: U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.
This course is designed to help health professionals improve their communications skills with patients, increase their awareness and knowledge of factors that affect their communication with patients, and implement patient-centered communications practices. The course is comprised of five modules and maybe taken for credit (CEU/CU, CHES, CME, and CNE).
U.S. Office of the Surgeon General. 2006. Proceedings of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Improving Health Literacy. Washington, DC: U.S. Office of the Surgeon General.
This report presents proceedings of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Improving Health Literacy held on September 7, 2006, in Bethesda, Maryland. The goal of the workshop was to present the state of the science in the field of health literacy from a variety of perspectives, including those of health professionals and organizations, the research community, and educators. During the workshop, participants identified the public health consequences of limited health literacy and established an evidence base for taking action. Panels covered health literacy, literacy, and health outcomes; meeting the health literacy needs of non-English speakers, minority populations, older adults, and children; and helping the public become more involved in meeting their health-information needs.
Selected Journal Articles