Working to help people get, navigate, understand, communicate, and use health information and services in order to make the best decisions for their health.
To understand health literacy, it is important to first understand how it relates to literacy: Literacy is a set of reading, writing, basic math, speech, and comprehension skills. We need these skills to function on the job and in society every day.
When we apply these skills to a health context, such as reading a nutrition label or getting a flu shot, it’s called health literacy. Health literacy is more than being able to read or write. Health literacy is a set of skills including listening, analytical, and decision-making skills, and the ability to apply these skills to health situations.