We’re so glad you’re here! This website is your one-stop shop for all things health literacy in Utah. Whether you’re a health professional, a community leader, a student, or just someone trying to better understand your health, you’re in the right place. Here’s what you’ll find on the site: ✅ Local resources to help you learn about resources✅ News and […]
Why Health Literacy Matters to You as a Provider As a healthcare professional, you work hard to support your patients’ health. But even the best care can fall short if your patients don’t understand what you’re saying. That’s where health literacy comes in. Health literacy is about making health information easy to find, easy to understand, and easy […]
Health Literacy Helps Your Organization Do Better Work Whether you’re an employer, library, nonprofit, government agency, or community group, health literacy should be part of your foundation. When people understand health information, they are more likely to take action, use services properly, and feel supported. That helps your organization and those you serve achieve goals. […]
Your Health Literacy Matters—Here’s Why Understanding your health shouldn’t be hard. Health literacy is about knowing how to find, understand, and use health information—whether it’s reading a prescription label, making a doctor’s appointment, or learning how to stay healthy. Why it matters: Your role: You don’t need to be an expert, but you can take steps […]
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.
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.
Health literacy occurs when a society provides accurate health information and services that people can easily find, understand, and use to inform their decisions and actions.
Poor health literacy can contribute to bad health outcomes by combining with other factors that lead to poor health. People with low health literacy often struggle to follow preventive health advice, stick to treatment plans, or take care of themselves properly. They are more likely to stay in the hospital for longer periods, return to the hospital for avoidable reasons, or need emergency care that could have been prevented. Studies show that people with low health literacy have 6% more hospital visits and hospital stays that last two days longer than those with higher health literacy. This can cost an extra $143 to $7,798 per year per patient, or 3–5% of total healthcare costs. Altogether, low health literacy adds up to $238 billion in extra healthcare costs each year in the U.S., which is about 17% of all personal healthcare spending.
Everyone can be affected by poor health literacy at different times of their life, depending on the situation. But these groups are more likely to experience challenges.