Surgeon General's Workshop on Improving Health Literacy

On September 7, 2006, Acting Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu held a Surgeon present the state of the science in the field of health literacy from a variety of perspectives, including those of health care organizations and providers, the research community, and educators. During the course of the one-day workshop, participants identified the public health consequences of limited health literacy and established an evidence base for taking action. People make choices about their health everyday, such as what they eat or how they exercise. In order to stay healthy, Americans must know how to read the labels on food and medicine, describe symptoms, or use a map to locate the closest health center. The ability to read, understand, and act on health information is called health literacy. Health literacy impacts Americans of all ages, races, incomes, and education levels. It affects our ability to search for and use health information, adopt healthy behaviors, and act on important public health alerts. The Surgeon General's Workshop on Improving Health Literacy was divided into three expert panels. Panel 1: Health Literacy, Literacy, and Health Outcomes, Panel 2: Meeting the Health Literacy Needs of Special Populations, Panel 3: Toward an Informed and Engaged Public Based on the evidence presented at the workshop, Acting Surgeon General Moritsugu made the following conclusions: First, public health professionals must provide clear, understandable, science-based health information to the American people. In the absence of clear communication and access to services, we cannot expect people to adopt the health behaviors we champion. Second, the promises of medical research, health information technology, and advances in health care delivery cannot be realized without also addressing health literacy. Third, we need to look at health literacy in the context of large systems-social systems, cultural systems, education systems, and the public health system. Limited health literacy is not an individual deficit but a systematic problem that should be addressed by ensuring that health care and health information systems are aligned with the needs of the public. Lastly, more research is needed, but there is already enough good information that we can use to make practical improvements in health literacy.