Understanding health information (health literacy)

What is health literacy?

Health literacy is about how well people can find, understand, and use information about health and health care.

Health literacy has two main parts:

1. Individual health literacy
2. The health literacy environment 

Individual health literacy

This means a person’s skills, knowledge, confidence, and motivation to:

• find health information
• understand what it means
• think about their options
• make decisions about their health and care
• take the right action 

The health literacy environment

This is about how the healthcare system supports people to find and understand health information. It includes things like:

• policies and procedures
• information and written materials
• buildings, services, and digital tools
• the way staff communicate and work with patients

A strong health literacy environment makes it easier for people to access services, understand information, and get the care they need.
 

Why health literacy matters

Good health literacy supports clear communication and strong partnerships between health services and consumers. For these partnerships to work, everyone needs to be able to share, understand, and act on information, such as treatment options and care plans.

Achieving high levels of health literacy can be challenging. Only about 4 in 10 adults have the level of health literacy needed to manage everyday health information. This means many people struggle to understand health messages as they are usually presented.

What can affect someone’s health literacy?

Health literacy is shaped by a range of personal, social, and structural factors. These may include:

How you can improve your health literacy

You can build your health literacy by:

• asking questions if something isn’t clear
• bringing a trusted friend or family member to appointments
• asking for an interpreter if you need one
• sharing your full medical history with your healthcare provider
• actively looking for trustworthy information about your health

We developed a national statement on health literacy to educate people about the importance of health literacy and to support health services to improve their health literacy environments. Our summary for consumers and infographic explains how you can improve your health literacy in more detail.
 

Tools for partnering in your own care 

Partnering in your own care means working with your healthcare team to make decisions about your health that matter to you. This includes asking questions, sharing your concerns and preferences, and being involved in choices about treatments and care plans.

Health literacy plays an important role in this. When you can find, understand, and use health information, you are more confident to speak up, and more likely to understand your options and take an active role in your care. 

We have several tools and resources to support your health literacy and enable you to partner in your own care. 

Tools for health professionals

We all have a role in addressing health literacy. To support consumers, health services need to embed health literacy into their systems, ensure effective communication with patients, and integrate health literacy into education programs. 

Our guide to taking action outlines how health professionals and services can take a coordinated approach to health literacy. Our national statement on health literacy reinforces the key actions for different audiences. 

We have summary sheets and infographics for different settings and audiences.
 

Useful links for consumers and health professionals