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Health Literacy

Health literacy and clear communication between health professionals and patients are key to improving health and the quality of health care. We create, promote, and curate evidence-based health literacy and communication tools, practices, and research for health professionals. Use our resources to find effective strategies for sharing health information in ways that people can understand and use.

November National Health Observances: Diabetes, COPD Awareness, and Antibiotic Awareness

NHO Spotlight

Each month, ODPHP features select National Health Observances (NHOs) that align with our priorities for improving health across the nation. In November, we are raising awareness about diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and antibiotic safety. We’ve pulled together some resources that you can use to promote these NHOs...

ICYMI: Healthy People 2030 Webinar “Empowering Diabetes Prevention, Treatment, and Management” Video Is Now Available

Healthy People 2030

On Wednesday, September 25th the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion hosted its latest Healthy People 2030 webinar, “Healthy People 2030: Empowering Diabetes Prevention, Treatment, and Management.” A video of that webinar is now available for viewing.

Health Literacy is a Collective Effort — and Organizations Play a Pivotal Role

One of the most important questions public health professionals need to consider is not only what intervention will achieve the desired health outcomes, but what level of influence will be most effective. The social-ecological model of health identifies factors that affect health at different levels — ranging from individual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to the family and community level and into the broader level of societal factors. Across all levels, health literacy is an important social determinant of health.