This Toolkit 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.
Most Americans face challenges in finding, understanding, and using health information and services. A national survey showed that 88% of U.S. adults do not have the health literacy skills needed to manage all the demands of the current healthcare system, and 36% have limited personal health literacy. It is our responsibility to change the system so patients do not face these hurdles.
Healthy People 2030, the Nation's 10-year plan to improve the health of all Americans, recognized that to achieving all its other health goals. It expanded to include organizational health literacy, an explicit acknowledgement of the essential role played by organizations that provide health information and services.
Organizational Health Literacy is the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
Personal Health Literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
What Are Health Literacy Universal Precautions?
This Toolkit promotes using health literacy universal precautions—the structuring of health information and services in ways that everyone can understand and use. Health literacy universal precautions call for—
- Simplifying communication and confirming understanding with everyone.
- Making the office environment and healthcare system easier to navigate.
- Supporting people's efforts to improve their health.
Why Use Health Literacy Universal Precautions?
Like with blood safety, universal precautions should be taken to address health literacy because we do not know who is challenged by health information and tasks at any given moment. Even people who usually manage well can find it hard to take in information and do what they need to do if they are feeling tired, sick, anxious, or overwhelmed.
Everyone appreciates information that is clear and easy to act on and healthcare systems that are easy to navigate. Being a health literate organization helps people feel more involved in their care and increases the chances of their doing what is needed to take care of their health.
Implementing health literacy universal precautions can serve both your patients' needs and your practice's other goals. For example, being health literate is important to achieve patient safety goals, such as reducing misdiagnosis. Many of the action steps recommended in this Toolkit are consistent with and may help your practice qualify for Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) or Health Equity Certification. Finally, improving interactions with and supporting patients can increase care team job satisfaction and reduce burnout.
What Is in This Toolkit?
This Toolkit contains 23 tools designed for busy practices. Each tool describes concrete actions in one of these 5 areas:
- Start on the Path to Improvement
- Improve Spoken Communication
- Improve Written Communication
- Improve Self-Management and Empowerment
- Improve Supportive Systems
The Toolkit also includes 40 resources, such as sample forms, PowerPoint presentations, and assessment tools.
Who Should Use This Toolkit?
This Toolkit is designed to be used in any primary care setting, although earlier editions have been used in a wide variety of healthcare settings. The Toolkit can help practices with little or no experience addressing health literacy, as well as those that are already engaged in health literacy-related quality improvement.
Toolkit Testing
Earlier editions of this Toolkit were tested in primary care practices and community clinics. Participating facilities showed that they could make changes to improve the way they communicate with and support their patients. Just like these practices, your practice can benefit from this resource.
Where Should You Start?
We recommend that you start on the Path to Improvement with Tools 1 through 3.
- Tool 1: Form a Team provides guidance on developing a team to lead your health literacy efforts.
- Tool 2: Assess Organizational Health Literacy and Create a Health Literacy Improvement Plan will guide you in assessing your practice and identifying focus areas for your improvement efforts.
- Tool 3: Raise Awareness provides guidance and resources for educating your staff about health literacy.
These Tools will establish a foundation to successfully implement health literacy improvements in your practice. You can implement the remaining tools in any order.
Want to jump right in with another tool? Use the Quick Start Guide for suggestions on getting started.
