why health literacy matters
Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, evaluate, communicate, and use health information to make informed decisions about your health. It is a stronger predictor of individual health status than age, income, employment status, education level or racial/ethnic group, and it impacts everyone.*
The Pennsylvania Health Literacy Coalition is an initiative of the Health Care Improvement Foundation (HCIF), funded by a Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH). Click here to read more about HCIF’s regional health literacy initiatives.
*Health Literacy and Patient Safety: Help Patients Understand, American Medical Association Foundation, 2007