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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Cynthia Baur, PhD, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, US Department of Health and Human Services, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite LL100, Rockville, MD 20852, 2404538262, cbaur@osophs.dhhs.gov

This presentation grounds a discussion of the public health sector's contribution to health literacy improvement in the Healthy People 2010 national objective (11-2) to improve the health literacy of persons with inadequate or marginal literacy skills. Healthy People 2010 defines health literacy as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. The Healthy People 2010 Health Communication Focus Area states that often people with the greatest health burdens have the least access to information, communication technologies, health care and supporting social services. Moreover, access to appropriate information and services is a matter of fundamental fairness. Efforts to improve health literacy in the United States, however, often narrowly focus on improving communication in the clinical setting. The public health community has yet to articulate a complementary health literacy agenda based on principles of equity and social justice. The presentation will review the data currently available on the health literacy problem, identify opportunities for connecting health literacy to broader movements for health and human rights, and solicit comments from the audience about what public health professionals can do to participate in the evolving national agenda on health literacy.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the importance of health literacy improvement as a national health objective.
• Assess population data on health literacy.
• Articulate health literacy improvement as an issue of fairness and equity.

Keywords: Health Literacy, Public Health Advocacy

Related Web page: www.health.gov/communication

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation