This structured search will assist the user in formulating a detailed search within the MEDLINE/Pubmed database. The website also contains a list of important resources concerning health literacy.

This blog post is the first in a series of three—Plain Language Past and Present—that will showcase early efforts in plain language implementation, including Gobbledygook Has Gotta Go, a 1996 pioneering book by Bureau of Land Management employee John O’Hayre.

Factsheet outlines how the teach-back method is a useful tool in improving health literacy among patients.

Paper argues that health care quality improvement measures could include health literacy, language access, and cultural competence - three critical factors to providing patient-centered care. Measurable improvements in these three domains would result in a more patient-centered and equity-based health care system - which, by its very nature, would provide higher quality care to all patients.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has unveiled a plain language checklist - PDF to help first responders provide services to individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with disabilities during emergency response and recovery efforts.

Study assesses the association between health insurance literacy and self-reported avoidance of health care services owing to cost.

The Public Library Association, along with nearly a dozen other organizations throughout the U.S., is working to promote health insurance enrollment, with primary goal is to promote enrollment in the health insurance marketplace during the Open Enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act. PLA will do this by distributing quality materials and communications and offering 120 mini-grants of $300 to U.S. public libraries to disseminate, offer education, and encourage their communities to enroll in the health insurance Marketplace during the Open Enrollment period between November 1 and December 15, 2018.

Blog post discusses how the National Library of Medicine works to improve health literacy and cultural competence in MedlinePlus.

This discussion paper focuses on some particularly challenging aspects of bridging primary care and oral health care for low health literacy populations. Because of the lack of physical proximity between most dental and medical practices, even in some co-located places, many patients and providers have difficulty navigating this divide.

NIMHD has recently added new topics to their Language Access Portal: dementia, mental health, and substance abuse.

Blog post compiles 10 easy ways to consider health literacy when reporting data.

This set of tools was developed to assist pharmacists in providing patients with appropriate and clear information.

The CAHPS Health Literacy Item Sets ask about providers' efforts to foster and improve the health literacy of patients.

This series of resources is geared for policymakers.

Resources on cultural competency and removing language and cultural barriers to health care for limited English-speaking populations.

This set of links provides information on local organizations and local government activities in the area of health literacy.

Map provides health literacy data for neighborhoods throughout the U.S. based on the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) data.

Guide for writing and designing easy-to-use health websites. Revised in 2016.

Provides an overview of health literacy concepts and techniques for improving health literacy. Designed for government employees, grantees and contractors, and community partners working in healthcare and public health fields. The tools can be applied to healthcare delivery, policy, administration, communication, and education activities aimed at the public.

Site provides information and tools for planning research, identifying opportunities and barriers to improving health literacy in an organization, finding funding opportunities, and learning about current research on health literacy topics.

This toolkit is designed to assist primary care practices by providing a method to assess their services for health literacy considerations, raise awareness of the entire staff, and work on specific problem areas.

The "Teach Back" method permits the health care professional to determine if the patient understands the information they have been given.

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) has pulled together key tools, research and reports, and resources for public health and health communication professionals.

Information and tools to improve health literacy and public health.

The Health Literate Care Model is a tool that combines health literacy principles from the Universal Precautions Toolkit into the widely adopted Chronic Care Model and calls for health care providers to: approach all patients as if they are at risk of not understanding health information, employ a range of strategies for clear communication, and confirm that patients understand what providers are saying.

Resources and information about health literacy and plain language communication.

Initiative aiming to clarify and explain scientific topics related to health research. This effort features a variety of materials including interactive modules, quizzes, and videos to provide engaging, straightforward content for consumers to dive in and get to know the science.

The 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 AHRQ QuestionBuilder app helps patients and caregivers prepare for medical appointments and maximize visit time. Patients can use the app to prepare and organize questions by type of medical encounter; take photos of insurance cards, pill bottles, and more; and access consumer education materials and videos.

This toolkit assists in transforming complicated scientific and technical information into materials more easily understood by a variety of health audiences.

The report uses four performance levels to report health literacy: Below Basic, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient.

Registration is required to access this document, which provides a framework for health care organizations to serve the nation's increasingly diverse communities. Also included is a fact sheet and video.

Provides a detailed and comprehensive set of tools to help make written material in printed formats easier for people to read, understand, and use.

This map tracks state and territorial efforts to promote or implement culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

Funding for research focused on identification of the key barriers to effective end-of-life and palliative care (EOLPC) health literacy in diverse settings and populations, and to create novel strategies, interventions, and models of care to improve EOLPC health literacy, with the goal of improving outcomes for individuals with serious, advanced illness and their families and caregivers.

Funding for research focused on identification of the key barriers to effective end-of-life and palliative care (EOLPC) health literacy in diverse settings and populations, and to create novel strategies, interventions, and models of care to improve EOLPC health literacy, with the goal of improving outcomes for individuals with serious, advanced illness and their families and caregivers.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications that seek to apply one or more innovative methodologies in communication research across the cancer control continuum, from prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, to end of life.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications that seek to apply one or more innovative methodologies in communication research across the cancer control continuum, from prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship, to end of life.

The purpose of this FOA is to support investigator-initiated R01 applications that will inform our understanding of the typical and atypical patterns of language and literacy development of dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States.

Funding to support investigator-initiated R21 applications that will inform our understanding of the typical and atypical patterns of language and literacy development of dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States.

The purpose of this toolkit is to enable organizations to implement the National CLAS Standards and improve health equity. It is organized according to the enhanced National CLAS Standards, and provides practical tools and examples of CLAS, in addition to efforts to implement the National CLAS Standards that can be adapted for use by health care organizations.

Proceedings from a public workshop featuring invited presentations and discussion of the quality performance measures for integration of health literacy, cultural competence, and language access services.

This site provides pharmacists with recently released health literacy tools and other resources from AHRQ.

This guide describes the benefits, steps and educational techniques of becoming a culturally competent health care organization.

The results of a November 2017 workshop, this volume looks at the role of health literacy in improving the health of communities, providing better care, providing affordable care, and improving the experience of the health care team

This publication offers a research agenda for science communicators and researchers seeking to apply research and fill gaps in knowledge about how to communicate effectively about science, focusing in particular on issues that are contentious in the public sphere.

A new report discusses how choosing a healthcare insurance plan can be limited by health literacy, numeracy, and poor website design.

CHIRr provides a resource of outcome variables and suggested measures to guide a comprehensive consumer health informatics assessment.

The primer aims at reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes by providing students in the health professions and practicing health professionals with resources to implement effective cross-cultural communication skills, have the tools necessary to deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare services to diverse groups, and develop programs and policies to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities.

This discussion paper presents a case study to assist developers in creating health literate mobile apps.

This Technical Brief from SEDL describes a systematic review which looked at the ability of cultural competency interventions to improve rehabilitation outcomes for ethnically and linguistically diverse individuals with disabilities, and if so, for whom and under what conditions.

To better understand how the public health and health care communities can meet the challenges of serving an increasingly diverse population, the Roundtable on Health Literacy created an ad hoc committee to plan and conduct a public workshop on facilitating health communication with immigrant, refugee, and migrant populations through the use of health literate approaches. The workshop rapporteurs have prepared this proceedings as a factual summation of the session discussions.

This fact sheet provides five action steps for local health departments to ensure that accessibility and inclusion are agency-wide priorities when developing and delivering all forms of communication.

Information about health literacy including health literacy in a cultural context, the prevalence of low health literacy, and initiatives to improve patient communication.

This series of fact sheets was developed to assist clinicians, patient advocates, and other stakeholders in improving care for individuals with low health literacy.

This paper looks at health literacy as a major component in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Released in March of 2011, this update of the 2004 systematic review looks at health care service use and health outcomes related to differences in health literacy level.

A guide to help you create, plan, run, and evaluate Health Literacy Month events. It is intended as a reference to use throughout your planning process.

Proceedings of a one-day workshop focused on changing the health needs of older adults, chronic disease and medication management, health communication challenges for older adults, health literacy needs and challenges for caregivers, and other topics related to health literacy for older people.

This paper demonstrates the intersection of health literacy, health equity, and health disparities both in practice and in research.

This book, from 2004, presents a series of recommendations to promote health literacy.

The results of a November 2014 workshop, this report commemorated the anniversary of the inauguration of the IOM Roundtable on Health Literacy with an examination of the past, present, and future of the field at a local, national and international level.

Resource of quality multilingual, multicultural public health information for those working with or providing care to individuals with limited English proficiency.

This TIP provides professionals in behavioral health and related fields with consensus-based, field-reviewed guidelines on the role of culture in the delivery of mental and substance use disorder services

The results of a systematic review of information on culturally appropriate health care for people with disabilities, for the LGBT community, and for racial/ethnic minorities.

This document represents a set of standards on governance, leadership, workforce; communication and language assistance; organizational engagement, continuous improvement, and accountability to help increase cultural competence.

This guide for administrators discusses importance of cultural considerations in the delivery of substance abuse and mental health services.

A publication that covers practical methods of integrating health literacy, cultural competence, and language access services into health care delivery.

Held November 14, 2012, this workshop examined the health inequalities affecting Native American, Alaska Native, First Nation, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander populations, and the ways in which culture could help reduce those disparities.

This policy information report from 2004 builds on two prior reports to demonstrate the effects of literacy on health status.

The report of a working group, this document outlines the group's recommendations, based on a series of charges to increase the cultural, linguistic, and health literacy competency of health providers and health care delivery organizations throughout Maryland.

Provided on this website are tools aimed at assisting in the creation of jargon-free documents. Federal Guidelines from the Plain Language Action and Information Network are included.

Summary of a workshop on the intersection of health literacy and precision medicine.

These health literacy materials meet both the need of adults to enhance their literacy skills as well as their need to navigate the health care system and begin to achieve better health care for themselves and their families.

This issue brief examines the importance of culture to health care and health disparities.

This guide helps professional care providers and administrators understand the role of culture in the delivery of mental health and substance use services. It describes cultural competence and discusses racial, ethnic, and cultural considerations.

This study, which includes an introductory video, examines the literature for the evidence of cultural and linguistic competence affecting health and mental health outcomes.

Results from a survey of 1,700 American adults on healthcare information seeking. (Weber Shandwick)

This publication summarizes the discussions that took place throughout a July 2018 workshop, highlighting key lessons, practical strategies, and the needs and opportunities for using the principles of health literacy to improve communication among health care providers, individuals with behavioral health and mental health challenges, and family members.

This chapter from Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, Volume 240: Health Literacy explores the journey that a growing number of health care organizations are taking to become health literate.

Compiles resources describing the barriers encountered by efforts to improve health literacy in the U.S. population.

August 5-30, 2019.

These educational standards were developed to introduce cultural competence into the medical curriculum.

Tip sheets to increase awareness about concepts and preferences of patients from diverse cultures.

This free, online course discusses how inequalities in health information contribute to health disparities and what communities can do to close the gap and improve health literacy.

Courses on health literacy from CDC, as well as links to non-CDC courses.

The Leadership Institute is a collaborative, multifaceted initiative with a goal to increase the number and capacity of leaders to advance and sustain cultural and linguistic competence and respond to the growing cultural diversity among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the United States, its territories, and tribal communities.

This collection serves as a starting point for finding health literacy resources to improve health literacy, improve health outcomes, and reduce disparities in health.

Free web-based course to educate public health professionals on the importance of health literacy and their role in providing health information and services and promoting public health literacy.

Provides an overview of health literacy, literacy assessment instruments, health communication and teaching aids, and the Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit.

Free, continuing education e-learning programs, designed to help users provider culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS).

The primer aims at reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes by providing students in the health professions and practicing health professionals with resources to implement effective cross-cultural communication skills, have the tools necessary to deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare services to diverse groups, and develop programs and policies to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities.

Archived cultural competence webinar series provides an overview of the health concerns and healthcare of LGBT people, to better create comprehensive systems of care that support positive outcomes and experiences for LGBT people. (GLMA)

Training materials from government, educational, and private sources are included on this CDC website. Some courses offer CE credits.

A curriculum guide from 2005.

Ongoing webinar series helps participants in all walks of public health apply techniques to communicate effectively with consumers, health professionals, disenfranchised communities, and public health peers. Site also contains links to archived videos, slides, and resources.

The mission of OMH is to improve and protect the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will eliminate health disparities and promote cultural competency, through the Center for Linguistic and Cultural Competence. OMH also supports the OMHRC Knowledge Center Library, an extensive searchable resource.

The NIH Clear Communication Initiative focuses on tools and resources that address health literacy particularly as it relates to conveying scientific information and research: 1) Providing information in the form and with the content that is accessible to specific audiences based on cultural competence; and 2) Incorporating plain language approaches and new technologies.

Highlights HRSA-supported projects on cross-cultural health care in areas such as special population, race/ethnicity, age, organ donation and transplantation, and research.

A collection of AHRQ resources, toolkits, and learning modules for a variety of health care professionals.

The HHS Health Literacy Workgroup is comprised of all operating and most staff divisions under HHS, and has met regularly since 2003. The workgroup collaborates to ensure that improving health literacy remains a priority for HHS. The workgroup strives to create understandable and actionable health information, support and facilitate engaged and activated health consumers, and refresh the health literacy science base on a regular basis.

This agency explores health processes, and examines the impact of disabilities, diseases, and variations on the lives of individuals. As part of its mission, it supports and conducts research aimed at increasing health literacy and numeracy.

The Healthy People 2020 goals provide a science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. Among the goals are those aimed at 1)improving the health literacy of the population, and 2)increasing the proportion of persons who report that their health care providers have satisfactory communication skills.

The National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) provides national leadership and contributes to the body of knowledge on cultural and linguistic competency within systems and organizations. Major emphasis is placed on translating evidence into policy and practice for programs and personnel concerned with health and mental health care delivery, administration, education and advocacy.

The mission of the Office of Minority Health (OMH) is to improve and protect the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will eliminate health disparities. Detailed information on cultural competency can be found on this site.

This Roundtable is comprised of representatives from academia, industry, government, foundations, and associations, as well as from patient and consumer interests.

Provides resources and tools to promote cultural and linguistic competency in health care including access to free and accredited continuing education programs.