Health Literacy

Family Doctor.org
This site features health information for the whole family from the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Harvard School of Public Health
Designed for professionals in health and education who are interested in health literacy. This site contains materials such as an introduction to health literacy, research on health literacy and insights from researchers, practitioners, adult learners and patients.

Institute for Healthcare Advancement
This site offers support to help combat low health literacy.

Healthy Roads Media
This site offers information on health topics in several languages. Information is presented in several formats including handouts, video and audio

HealthLiteracy.org
This site collects concepts and materials on health education and discussed models and initiatives in the promotion of health literacy in a cross-cultural setting.

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute is part of the Federal Government’s National Institutes of Health. This site showcases health information to apply to lesson plans to promote health literacy.

Health Literacy: A Prescription To End Confusion
2004 Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
This report offers recommendations to health care providers, K-12 administrators, adult education and community organizations to institute programs to help those with low health literacy.

Preventive Services for Healthy Living
American Academy of Family Physicians
The choices you make about the way you live are important to your health. Find preventive information for healthy living.

Health Literacy and Adult English Language Learners
Kate Singleton
This Q&A defines health literacy and its importance in the United States and discusses implications for adult English language learners, instructors, and programs.

In Other Words...Bridging Literacy and Language Differences for Better Health Outcomes
Helen Osborne
This article, from Oncall magazine, highlights the need for clear and concise information for ESOL learners on health literacy and offers tips on how to communicate effectively.

Quick Guide to Health Literacy and Older Adults
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services - Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion has developed a Quick Guide to Health Literacy and Older Adults. The Guide focuses on visual impairment, hearing impairment, cognitive challenges, strengths of older adults.

HELP (Health Education Literacy Program): Teaching Reading and Health Together
The Institute for Health Care Advancement’s curriculum can be used to help teach low level reading adults to better take care of themselves and their families.

Virginia Adult Education Health Literacy Toolkit
This toolkit is aimed to help adult education instructors and administrators understand the impact of poor health literacy on adult learners and provide effective instruction. Topics include: What is Health Literacy? Why is Health Literacy So Important? What Resources are Available?; as well as teaching tips.

“Anyone Can Have Diabetes” Brochure
This brochure can be customized to include local information.

Health Literacy Curricula
Innovative adult/health education curricula is included in this Harvard University site as well as links to other web sites related to health and literacy.

Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s Publications
This site is from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It has information about heart, lung, and blood diseases, asthma, cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, losing weight, and exercise. There are many healthy recipes. Most brochures are easy-to-read, and some are in Spanish.

Your Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure
"You can do it!" is the message in this action-packed guide. Follow step-by-step instructions on how to achieve and maintain a lower blood pressure through lifestyle and if prescribed, medication.

Planning a Healthy Menu Using the Food Pyramid
Melissa M. Embacher
A detailed lesson plan for planning a complete and healthy meal.

Information on Safety in the Home & Community for Parents with Children (Ages 4-11)

E-Square
This virtual town square has several store fronts pictured on the home page leading to information about a variety of community and family issues. This is easy to use and the pictures make it student-friendly.