Florida Literacy Coalition

 

Literacy Resources

 

Health Literacy Links & Resources

Click here to return to the Health Literacy/Staying Healthy page.

Relevant Sites

Collection of Health Literacy Curricula
This page is a result of a discussion on the National Institute for Literacy Health and Literacy listserv. Purposefully kept in very simple HTML to allow easy access to all users, the page allows visitors to either directly download or link to online health literacy curricula.

Health Literacy Out Loud
This site contains several podcasts on various topics related to health literacy. New ones are added about every two weeks.

Ethnomed
EthnoMed contains information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and other related issues pertinent to the health care of recent immigrants in the US

Harvard Literacy Studies
This site is designed for professionals in health and education who are interested in 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.

Teacher/Tutor
Tutor Tips
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Family Literacy
Health Literacy
Corrections
Learning Disabilities
Workplace
Equipped for the Future - Classroom Activities
Math
Multiple Intelligences
Technology
International Resources
Financial Literacy


Healthfinder.gov

Developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services together with other Federal agencies, this site is a key resource for finding reliable and expert-reviewed government and nonprofit health and human services information on the Internet. Users can select the Spanish version of the website.

Medlineplus.gov
MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. Health topics are presented in over 40 different languages.

Health Literacy of America's Adults
The Health Literacy of America’s Adults is the first release of the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) health literacy results

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

Health Literacy Missouri
HLM is a non-profit corporation based in St. Louis and serving the entire state of Missouri. Their mission is to improve the health of all Missourians while becoming a national leader in health literacy.

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.

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.

Articles

Poor Math Skills Can Hinder Diabetes Management; Study Shows
Craig Boerner

Are You Health Literate? Medical Communication in the 21st Century
Dr Cary Presant, MD
This article provides an overview of the importance of health literacy for all patients.

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.


Preventative 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.

Avoiding Medication Errors
American Pharmacists Association
Designed to teach health literacy basics, this site includes easy to use information about being an informed consumer, key questions to ask doctors and what students can do at home to promote health literacy.

What is Health Literacy?
Andres Muro
This overview of health literacy and its place in adult education includes examples of health literacy needs and ideas for forming community collaborations with health entities.

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.

Resources

Ask Medicare
The tool kit includes materials describing Medicare as well as material for caregivers for persons eligible for Medicare and is designed for participants in adult education programs who are 60 or older.

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.

Health Literacy: New Field, New Opportunities
Learn about the challenges associated with low health literacy, meet some of the new health literacy practitioners in the field, hear about successful strategies and practices, and apply what you have learned to a challenging health literacy scenario. There is no fee for the course. Developed by World Education.

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.

Superheroes
A Public Service Announcement (PSA) video in Spanish about the importance of going to the doctor.

Men Going to the Doctor
A Public Service Announcement (PSA) video in English encouraging men to take an active role in their medical care and the importance of visiting the doctor.

Questions are the Answers
A Public Service Announcement (PSA) video in English about the importance of asking questions about one’s own health and health care plan.

Health Literacy Speaker Bureau
Here is a listing by county of available Health Literacy speakers.

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

Florida ABE Practitioners' Taskforce Committee Health and Literacy Resources
The health and literacy section of the Florida ABE Practitioners' Taskforce Committee contains several brochures designed to enlighten low level readers about health concerns like diabetes, high blood pressure and AIDs along with a document that provide tips on communicating with your doctor. There is also a guide for health professionals on providing support to patients who have reading difficulties.

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.

Culture Health and Literacy
A guide to health education materials for adults with limited English literacy skills. Each material listed has a description of how it can be used.

Buying Medicine
This lesson allows students to use the commercial site, drugstore.com, to learn about medicines, while also working on computer and research skills. It can be adapted to a variety of levels for ESOL or literacy students.

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

Child Safety: A Web-based Instructional Resource
The units include fire safety, poisons, when you leave home, and emergencies. Each unit has a worksheet where you can check off the things you need to do. There are pictures, definitions of vocabulary, and sound to make things easier to understand.

Web Projects
This site contains several e-mail and web projects that allow students from around the world to share information and explore certain topics. Two projects relate to health. The Food Project has colorful pictures of fruits and vegetables that could enhance nutrition lessons for low-level readers.

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.

The Health & Literacy Special Collection
The Health and Literacy Special Collection administered by LINCS and World Education provides a comprehensive listing of health literacy resources for teaching, students and health professionals. Their collection includes classroom curricula, student stories and tips for the doctor's office that is easy to incorporate into the classroom and every day life.

Mario Decides to Quit
The goal of “Mario Decides to Quit” is to enhance the health literacy of students while they learn to read. The story has been tailored to the Hispanic population and focuses on asthma and the dangers of secondhand cigarette smoke. This foto-novela (story with pictures) was created as a tool to be used in literacy classes. Written in a 3rd - 4th grade reading level, the story is suitable for beginning or intermediate English learners.

Tobacco Literacy Module - Teacher's Guide
The instructor’s guide includes activities to assist learning and ensure comprehension of the related foto-novela (see above). The instructor’s guide includes a review of vocabulary words, basic comprehension questions, a word search, a crossword puzzle, and a word matching activity the instructor can copy and use as an entire lesson with the class. Additionally, there is basic information on asthma, a list of questions to initiate a class discussion on smoking and quitting, and resources available to the instructor in need of more information.

Local Health Resources

Public Health Services
This site features the contact information for local County Health Departments in Florida. By contacting these agencies, teachers and students may locate free and low-cost clinics servicing the under-insured.

For Florida's Health
This website allows you to search for Florida-based free and low cost health care resources by specialty, language preference, and geographical location.

Medical Quality Assurance Services
This website allows you to check a health provider's licensure status. You may also find information about his/her training, certifications, pending and past lawsuits, complaint and discipline reports, and more.


 

 

 

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