Disparities in public understanding, attitudes, and intentions during the Covid-19 pandemic: The role of health literacy

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to address health literacy as a critical priority for public health. Health literacy is crucial during a pandemic for understanding and following health advice and for navigating vast amounts of information and misinformation. However, public health communication globally has inadequately met the needs of low literacy and culturally and linguistically diverse groups. This review examines the role of health literacy and how it is related to Covid-19 related outcomes, as well as how public health communication has routinely failed to follow basic health literacy principles. Lessons from the pandemic about health communication and recommendations for how health literacy needs can be addressed in the future are discussed. Improving public health communication requires an immediate short-term response and longer-term investment to build the health literacy responsiveness of public health units, health organisations, and government departments to meet health literacy population needs.