Concepts

Health Literacy

Citation Formats

General Reference

Health and Wellness Atlas. "Health Literacy." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://health.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/health-literacy.

APA Style

Health and Wellness Atlas. (n.d.). Health Literacy. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://health.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/health-literacy

BibTeX

@misc{healthandwellnessatlas-health-literacy,
  author = {Health and Wellness Atlas},
  title = {Health Literacy},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://health.interactiveatlas.org/concepts/health-literacy},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

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

1974 1

Concept Class

Public health, health communication 2

Cross-Tradition Connections

In Branch

Public Health

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 article

Quote, 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.

View the Source

2. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Official Site

US Centers for Disease Control and PreventionView the Source

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