AHRQ: Health Literacy

Summary

The health literacy field has evolved over several decades. Its initial focus was on individuals who had poor literacy skills. Now there is a broad recognition that everyone—not just those with limited literacy—face challenges in understanding health information and navigating the healthcare system. Acknowledging that the healthcare system is overly complex, healthcare organisations have started to take responsibility to ensure that everyone, especially the vulnerable, is able to find, understand, and use health information and services.

The Agency for Healthcare Research Quality (AHRQ) provides national health literacy leadership. AHRQ’s health literacy work spans from developing improvement tools, to designing professional training and education, to funding and synthesising health literacy research.

You can find health literacy improvement tools, educational and training, and publications on the AHRQ Health Literacy website.