Health Literacy: Challenges and Strategies

Abstract

Although health literacy is a concept new to many members of the healthcare community, it has quickly caught the attention of researchers, policy makers, and clinicians due to its widespread impact on health and well-being. Despite the enormous implications of low health literacy, there remains a significant amount of confusion surrounding the concept and its connection with healthcare outcomes. The purpose of this article is to outline the scope of low health literacy as a concept and explore ways that researchers and clinicians can reduce its negative impact on health outcomes. First, the major definitions of health literacy are presented in a brief overview. Then, the concepts of obtaining, processing/understanding, and using information serve as a working framework for discussing both the challenges of low health literacy and strategies to address low health literacy. The authors conclude by identifying areas of research that are needed to advance the conceptualization of health literacy.