Health Literacy Month is a national health observance, which is, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “a time to recognize the importance of making health information easy to understand and the health care system easier to navigate.” Health literacy is perhaps more important than ever, given the proliferation of medical misinformation and disinformation online in recent years.
Not sure how health literate you are? Test you skills with this quiz from Pew Charitable Trusts!
There are many great online resources available to aid you in boosting your health literacy — including on our website, as well as this article from GoInvo. There are several books about health literacy and healthcare available in the library, including these titles:
- The 60 Minute Guide to Health Literacy: A Common Sense Approach to Informed Medical Decision Making by Jo Kline, JD
- Never Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win by Marshall Allen
- Afraid of the Doctor: Every Parent’s Guide to Preventing and Managing Medical Trauma by Meghan L. Marsac and Melissa J. Hogan
- Great Courses – Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us Audio lectures by Steven Novella
- An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take it Back by Elizabeth Rosenthal
- Health Literacy from A to Z by Helen Osborne
- Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion edited by Lynn Nielsen-Bohlman, Alison M. Panzer, and David A. Kindig
Additionally, we have a variety of pamphlets — covering topics from aging to healthy eating — available in the library for free. Health literacy is what we’re all about at Herrick, so really any resource you utilize from the library helps empower you and your community to take charge of your health!
