The degree to which individuals can find, understand and use health information and services to make appropriate decisions for their own health, recognized by public health practice as a determinant of outcomes independent of access to care itself.
Facts
First Described Year First Described Era1970s; the term was first used by Scott K. Simonds in a 1974 monograph, Health Education as Social Policy. 1 Concept ClassPublic health, health communication 2 Connections
Associated With
Health literacy is the outcome measure most closely associated with the health communication field: how well health information is conveyed determines how well it is understood and acted on.
Health literacy is standardly classified in the public health literature as a social determinant of health in its own right.
In Branch
Source United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Official Site
Sources
1. A Brief Recap of Health Literacy History (healthliteracy.com)
healthliteracy.com, 2024History section of articleQuote, History section of article
The first mention of the term health literacy was reportedly in a monograph in Health Education and Behavior by Scott K. Simonds entitled Health Education as Social Policy.
2. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Official Site
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