Research Guides: Health Literacy: Speak Plain Language: Assessment Instruments & Toolkits

Personal Health Literacy Assessment Instruments

Online Toolkits

Always Use Teach-back!
Combines health literacy principles of plain language and using teach-back to confirm understanding, with behavior change principles of coaching to new habits and adapting systems to promote consistent use of key practices.
The CDC Clear Communication Index
Research-based tool to help you develop and assess public communication materials.
Center for Health Communication: Creator Resources
From the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, this site provides a library of toolkits and briefings by topic.
Center for Health Communication: Public Health Professionals Resources
Resources by topic include communicating clearly (e.g., tips for cutting jargon, making health data understandable, using inclusive language and images, etc.).
Clear & Simple
Outlines a process for developing communications materials for people with limited-literacy skills.
Digital.gov
Official U.S. federal portal for digital government. Includes guidance and resources for federal agencies to deliver better digital services. Topics include accessibility, usability, data visualization, communication, plain language, and best practices.
Easy-to-Read
Find links to health information that is easier to read, understand, and use. These materials are designed to be clear and to follow best practices in health literacy.
Gateway to Health Communication & Social Marketing Practice: Tools & Templates
Discover the best and most effective tools and templates for your health communication needs.
Guidelines for Effective Writing
From the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Includes a link to Writing for the Web for more tips to improve online communication.
Health Literacy Tool Shed: A Database of Health Literacy Measures
Contains information about measures, including their psychometric properties, based on a review of the peer-reviewed literature. The Tool Shed is maintained by Tufts Medicine Center for Health Literacy Research & Practice at Tufts Medical Center.
The Newest Vital Sign
Valid and reliable screening tool available in English and Spanish that identifies patients at risk for low health literacy.
The Readability Test Tool
Provides a quick and easy way to test the readability of your work. You can test all, or part of a web page, or simply type in your text.

Documents

AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, 3e by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Publication Date: January 2025
Offers evidence-based guidance to help healthcare providers make health information easier to understand and act on, make healthcare easier to navigate, and increase support for patients of all health literacy levels.
An Author's Guide by the Office of Patient Education, University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics
Publication Date: 1997
Provides basic information to assist you in developing written materials for patients and their families. Included is a substitute word list.
Communicating Risks and Benefits: An Evidence-Based User's Guide by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Publication Date: August 2011
Provides the scientific foundations for effective communication.
The Health Communicator's Social Media Toolkit by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Publication Date: July 2011
Guide to using social media to improve reach of health messages, increase access to your content, further participation with audiences and advance transparency to improve health communication efforts.
The Health Literacy Environment Activity Packet: First Impressions and Walking Interview by Rima E. Rudd
Designed to help hospitals and health center staff members begin to consider some of the characteristics of their workplace that help or hinder a visitor’s ability to make his or her way about. This initial focus is on physical navigation.
The Health Literacy Environment of Hospitals and Health Centers Partners for Action: Making Your Healthcare Facility Literacy-Friendly by Rima E. Rudd & Jennie E. Anderson
Publication Date: 2006
Designed to assist chief executive officers, presidents, program directors, administrators, and healthcare workers at hospitals or health centers to consider the health literacy environment of their healthcare facilities and to analyze ways to reduce demands, to better serve their patients and staff and ultimately to increase revenue.
The Health Literacy Style Manual by Lane, Penny, Mercedes Blanco, Leslie Ford and Holly Smith Mirenda
Publication Date: October 2005
Resource for developing and improving applications, notices and other print materials related to government programs.
The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide: An Instrument To Assess the Understandability and Actionability of Print and Audiovisual Patient Education Materials, version 1.0 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Publication Date: November 2013 (updated August 2014)
A systematic method to evaluate and compare the understandability and actionability of patient education materials. It is designed as a guide to help determine whether patients will be able to understand and act on information. Separate tools are available for use with print and audiovisual materials.
Simply Put: A Guide for Creating Easy-to-Understand Materials, 3e by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Publication Date: April 2009
Helps you transform complicated scientific and technical information into communication materials your audiences can relate to and understand.