Promoting Health Literacy: The Role of Community Health Workers and Resources

By: Brittany Daniels, Director of Operations & Communications, Health Impact Ohio

 October is recognized as Health Literacy Awareness Month, dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of health literacy and promoting better health outcomes for everyone. 

Health literacy refers to our ability to understand and interpret health-related information and make informed decisions about our well-being. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same level of health literacy, leading to disparities in health outcomes. 

The purpose of Health Literacy Awareness Month is to encourage individuals to develop their health literacy skills and provide them with the necessary resources to access and understand health information. This includes promoting the use of plain language in health communication and providing information in different formats, such as videos and infographics. 

By increasing health literacy awareness, we can empower individuals in our communities to make informed decisions about their health, ultimately leading to better health outcomes. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are trusted members of their communities, working to improve the health outcomes of individuals and communities. CHWs play a vital role in promoting health literacy by providing education and resources to their clients and communities.

Community Health Workers can support health literacy by:

1. Providing Information in Plain Language: Community health workers can help individuals understand medical jargon by providing information in plain language. By using simple language and avoiding complex medical terms, community health workers can help individuals understand their health conditions and medical treatments.

2. Improving Health Communication: Community health workers can help improve health communication between patients and healthcare providers. By acting as a liaison between patients and healthcare providers, community health workers can ensure that patients understand their medical conditions and treatments.

3. Providing Health Education: Community health workers can provide evidence-based health education to individuals and communities. This can include providing information on vaccines, safe sleep, smoking cessation, disease prevention, and many other health-related topics.

4. Supporting Health Literacy Skills: Community health workers can support individuals in developing their health literacy skills. This can include providing resources on how to access and understand health information.

The Health Literacy Awareness Month theme is "Be a Health Literacy Hero," which encourages individuals to take action and become advocates for health literacy in their communities. CHWs serve our communities as health literacy heroes every day by developing trusting relationships with individuals in their communities to help support and educate their clients and by addressing social determinants of health to improve the health outcomes for each individual that they serve.

Improving health literacy for both clients and providers is crucial for creating a healthier, more informed society. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help individuals and community partners develop their health literacy skills to access and understand health information, including:

This Plain Language Glossary from Advancing Health Literacy Franklin County: Public Health Plain Language Guide – Advancing Health Literacy

Institute for Healthcare Advancement Video Series: The Health Literacy Solutions Center

Health Impact Ohio would like to thank all of our CHWs and community partners who serve as our health literacy heroes to improve the health of all our Central Ohio communities and beyond.