Health literacy is one of the most powerful — and most overlooked — drivers of health outcomes. It shapes how people understand medical advice, navigate healthcare systems, interpret public health information, and make decisions about their own wellbeing.
In underserved communities, low health literacy doesn’t just reflect gaps in education. It is closely tied to inequality, systemic barriers, cultural exclusion, and historic mistrust of institutions. Improving health literacy, then, is not simply a matter of clearer pamphlets or better websites — it is a question of justice, access, and human dignity.
This guide explains what health literacy means, why gaps exist, and what works in practice to improve it.
What Is Health Literacy?
Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, evaluate, and use health information and services to make informed decisions. It includes reading and numeracy, but also communication, system navigation, and judging credibility. Improving health literacy reduces preventable harm and supports fair access to care.
The World Health Organization frames health literacy as a critical determinant of health across the life course.
Health literacy goes beyond reading ability. It includes:
- Understanding medical instructions and terminology
- Navigating clinics, referrals, consent, and paperwork
- Assessing whether information is credible
- Communicating needs and concerns with providers
- Making decisions that fit real-world constraints
Why Health Literacy Gaps Exist
Health literacy is not evenly distributed. Research summarised in the U.S. National Library of Medicine shows limited health literacy disproportionately affects people facing structural barriers, including:
- Low-income communities
- People with limited formal education
- Older adults
- Migrant and refugee populations
- Indigenous and marginalised groups
These gaps are rarely about individual ability. They are often created or worsened by:
- Complex and fragmented healthcare systems
- Medical language written for professionals, not patients
- Lack of culturally safe and linguistically appropriate services
- Historical discrimination and institutional mistrust
- Digital exclusion and uneven access to reliable information
That is why the most effective interventions focus on systems and community trust, not “fixing” individuals.
How to Improve Health Literacy
Effective ways to improve health literacy include:
- Use plain language and confirm understanding with teach-back
- Embed health and media literacy in schools and adult learning
- Partner with trusted community leaders and local organisations
- Reduce digital barriers with training, support, and offline options
- Simplify forms, signage, and care pathways across services
- Train staff in inclusive, culturally safe communication
- Co-design materials and services with the people who use them
The sections below explain how to apply these strategies in real settings.
1. Use Plain Language and Clear Communication
Healthcare information is often written for professionals rather than patients. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends plain language as a core health literacy strategy.
Practical improvements include:
- Replace jargon with everyday language
- Use short paragraphs and clear subheadings
- Highlight the “what to do next” in simple steps
- Use visuals and examples where they genuinely clarify meaning
Use teach-back: after explaining something important, ask the person to describe it back in their own words. This is not a test of the patient; it is a check on the clarity of the explanation.
2. Build Health Literacy Through Schools and Early Education
Health literacy begins long before someone enters a clinic. Schools can teach the foundations of decision-making, risk, and credibility.
The Australian Government’s National Preventive Health Strategy highlights prevention and long-term capability building as essential to better outcomes.
High-impact school-based approaches include:
- Teaching students how to evaluate health claims and sources
- Integrating health topics across the curriculum, not only in science class
- Building media literacy to reduce vulnerability to misinformation
- Normalising question-asking and self-advocacy in health contexts
3. Work With Community Leaders and Trusted Organisations
Information is only effective when it is trusted. In underserved communities, trust often comes from relationships — not branding.
The WHO’s risk communication guidance emphasises the value of working with trusted messengers and listening to community concerns.
Practical partnership models include:
- Community health workers and peer educators
- Local advocacy organisations and mutual aid groups
- Cultural associations, elders, or faith-based networks
- Libraries, neighbourhood houses, and community centres
When communities help shape the message, the result is more culturally relevant, more usable, and far more likely to be acted on.
4. Reduce Digital Health Literacy Barriers
Healthcare is increasingly delivered through portals, apps, and online forms. That shift can widen inequities if digital access and confidence are assumed.
The OECD has highlighted digital exclusion as a growing driver of health inequality.
Common barriers include:
- No reliable device or internet connection
- Low confidence navigating portals, bookings, and online forms
- Difficulty identifying credible sources online
- Language barriers compounded by poor UX design
High-impact responses include community training, in-person support, phone-based alternatives, and simplifying digital experiences so they work for low-bandwidth users and small screens.
5. Make the Health System Easier to Navigate
Health literacy is not only an individual skill. It is also a property of systems: how understandable and navigable services are in real life.
The U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion promotes “organisational health literacy” — designing services so people can find what they need and act on it without confusion.
System-level improvements can include:
- Simplifying forms, letters, and consent processes
- Using clear signage and consistent wayfinding
- Reducing unnecessary referrals and handoffs
- Training staff to communicate respectfully and inclusively
- Designing care pathways around patient reality, not institutional convenience
Health-Literate Community Checklist
Use this checklist to assess whether your program or service supports health literacy:
- Information is written in plain language and tested with real users
- Key actions are clearly stated (what to do, when, and why)
- Teach-back or confirmation of understanding is routinely used
- Materials are available in relevant languages and formats
- Trusted local partners help design and deliver messages
- Digital options have phone or in-person alternatives
- Staff training includes culturally safe, inclusive communication
- Feedback loops exist and communities can influence changes
How to Measure Whether Health Literacy Is Improving
Readability scores are a start, but they do not capture whether information is usable in real life.
Useful indicators include:
- People can accurately explain next steps in their own words
- Increased use of preventive care and follow-up services
- Reduced avoidable emergency visits
- Improved medication adherence and fewer dosing errors
- Stronger patient-provider trust and communication
Qualitative feedback from communities often reveals barriers that metrics miss, especially where fear, shame, or prior discrimination shaped past experiences.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are examples of health literacy?
Examples include understanding a prescription label, knowing when to seek urgent care, evaluating whether a health claim online is reliable, completing a consent form, or asking clarifying questions during an appointment.
What is the teach-back method?
Teach-back is a communication technique where a clinician or educator asks someone to explain the information back in their own words. It confirms understanding and reveals where the explanation needs to be clearer.
Why is health literacy important for equity?
Because complex systems and inaccessible information disproportionately harm people already facing barriers. Improving health literacy reduces preventable harm, supports informed consent, and makes access to care fairer.
Health Literacy as a Matter of Equity
At its core, health literacy is about power — who has access to information, who feels safe asking questions, and who gets excluded by complexity.
Improving health literacy in underserved communities is foundational to reducing health inequities and building systems that are genuinely usable for everyone.
When health information is accessible, culturally respectful, and genuinely practical, it becomes a tool for empowerment rather than another barrier to care.
Health literacy is not just about understanding health. It is about being understood.