Objective 11-2 in Healthy People 2010 is to "Improve the health literacy of persons with inadequate or marginal literacy skills." Health literacy is recognized as an essential skill not only for managing disease but also for preventing it and for navigating the health system to ensure access to quality care. The role of health literacy in achieving national health promotion and disease prevention goals and objectives will be discussed. At present, there is no national baseline data on levels of health literacy, or even agreed upon definitions of what constitutes health literacy. The speaker will also describe the methodological and policy issues related to collaborative work of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to integrate sound measures of health literacy (for prevention and health care) into the 2002 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAALS).
Learning Objectives: Describe provisional definition of health literacy and describe collaborative work of DHHS and the Department of Education regarding health literacy
Keywords: Literacy, Healthy People 2000/2010
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.