What is health literacy?

The information we tell patients is often complicated. So is the information we write for them. This can make it hard for patients to understand their health.

Health literacy is about people being able to understand health information. It's about us making it easier for them to do this. It's about how we talk, how we write and how our sites are signposted. It's about making all those things clearer.

 

Why is it important?

There is a strong link between low health literacy and health inequalities. People with lower health literacy:

  • are more likely to die younger
  • are more likely to have long term conditions
  • miss appointments more often
  • find it hard to take medication correctly
  • feel worried and angry
  • struggle to look after their own health effectively

The average reading age of adults in the UK is 9-11 years old. Half of adults find it hard to understand health information. So they struggle to use it to help their health and wellbeing.

What can we do about it?

We can all do things to share clearer health information. We can all speak and write in ways that make it easier for our patients to understand.

We can write in a clear way, at the average UK reading age. We can use as little medical jargon as possible.

We can talk about health using everyday words. We can check with patients if we've explained clearly before they go home.

The health literacy team is here to help with this. 

 

What does the Health Literacy team do?

The Health Literacy Team has a big work plan for the next year. You can read it here.

At the moment, the team is looking at the way we write as a Trust. We're here to help you write for the average UK reading age. Below is what we will be doing over the next year.

  • Audit of reading age of patient information leaflets
  • For leaflets that have a high reading age, suggest changes to the text to lower the reading age
  • Build health literacy into the current leaflet process
  • Create support for staff on writing for the average UK reading age
  • Raise awareness of health literacy through training.

We are a new team. Health literacy covers lots of areas, so over time, what we do may change. Keep checking back for future updates.

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