Health Literacy: Speak Plain Language: Professional Resources

Informs and partners with individuals and organizations to craft collective, lasting solutions which will positively impact the health and well-being of individuals with low-literacy skills, their families, and their communities.

Browse the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for this topic.

AHRQ's health literacy resources help health care professionals and delivery organizations make information easier to understand and systems easier to navigate.

ODPHP is dedicated to helping professionals communicate more clearly with consumers. They create, promote, and curate evidence-based health literacy and communication tools, practices, and research.

Helen Osborne, M.Ed, OTR/L, helps professionals communicate health information in ways that patients and the public can understand. Her website includes sections on writing and editing, podcasts, and tips and articles.

Created to help clinicians, patient advocates, and other stakeholders improve care for individuals with low health literacy. They define health literacy; describe ways to identify low health literacy; provide strategies to improve print and oral communication for low-literate consumers; provide information about the intersection of health literacy and culture; and highlight key policies relating to health literacy.

In April 2018, the MRCT Center convened a workgroup of diverse stakeholders, including industry, foundations, academia, patient advocates and advocacy groups, non-profits and government representatives to challenge and overcome the barriers to adopting and implementing health literacy principles in clinical research.

Designed for professionals in health and education who are interested in health literacy. Included is an overview (definitions, slides, and videos), research findings (assessments and reviews), policy (reports and initiatives), practice (strategies and tools), and resources.

The NIH Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL) has established the NIH “Clear Communication” initiative that focuses on achieving two key objectives of health literacy: Providing information in the form and with the content that is accessible to specific audiences based on cultural respect; and incorporating plain language approaches and new technologies.

Provides information and tools to improve health literacy and public health. These resources are for all organizations that interact and communicate with people about health.

Health topic from MedlinePlus. Includes a summary, links to research and other resources.

Defines health literacy, puts health literacy in a cultural context, specifies skills needed for health literacy, shows the prevalence of low health literacy, describes the economic impact of low health literacy, lists initiatives to improve patient communication, presents research findings on the impact of low health literacy, and links out to government resources and research on health literacy.

Discusses why and how to design health websites and other digital health information tools for all users, including the millions of Americans who don’t have strong reading or health literacy skills—as well as those who don’t have a lot of time to find, process, and use complex health information.

Listen in as Helen Osborne interviews those in-the-know about health literacy. You will hear why health literacy matters and learn practical ways to help.

Low health literacy affects us all. Only 12% of Americans are proficient in health literacy skills and only half of patients take medications as directed. Take this short quiz from HealthEd to test your own skills. Includes statistics and links to helpful literacy Web sites.

Presentation by Professor Rachelle Buchbinder, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Monash University, given at "Health Literacy Network: Crossing Disciplines, Bridging Gaps", November 26, 2013. The University of Sydney.