Health literacy is often overlooked but remains an essential link in the healthcare system. Without proficient individual and organizational health literacy, the complicated chain of events a patient must navigate, and a provider must lead, can break before it has even begun. The last National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL, 2003) showed that most people do not have the skills needed to successfully handle the American healthcare system. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic showed that many people do not have access and/or the skills needed to identify truthful information from reliable, credible sources. The Snohomish County Advancing Health Literacy Project research shows that many healthcare providers in Snohomish County have gaps in the skills needed to adequately provide information to their patients.
TRAIN the trainer toolkit
This Health Literacy Train the Trainer Toolkit is intended to increase awareness about and adoption of health literacy best practices among those who share health information with members of the community. We hope to improve the way information is shared and help decrease health disparities, particularly for communities that have been historically excluded from the opportunity to make well-informed health decisions. This exclusion is especially problematic during public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why Use this Toolkit:
- To increase your personal health literacy knowledge and skills
- To implement a tried-and-tested health literacy training program
- To increase your organization’s health literacy
To access the complete toolkit, please go here. A Spanish version is available here.
