Oral Health Literacy Improvement: The Case for Coalition Building

The purpose of this presentation is to outline the process for building and sustaining a coalition to focus on health literacy improvement. The presentation will use an example of a public sector coalition that crossed traditional organizational boundaries to make health literacy a policy and political priority. The outcomes of the coalition's activities will also be presented and discussed. The use of national health objectives, research, political priorities and policy changes to organize and activate the coalition will be explained. The importance of addressing practical requirements related to the need to communicate with diverse publics will be highlighted. The presentation will conclude with lessons learned about how to make health literacy improvement a policy and political priority.