Health literacy – a tool for health promotion
Public health
If we are to improve and maintain good health and quality of life throughout life, we need to place greater emphasis on people’s health literacy.
Health literacy is the ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information in order to maintain, promote and improve one’s health. People are different and therefore they do not have the same prerequisites to be equally health literate. Health literacy is therefore also linked to inequalities in health.
The Nordic Welfare Centre’s project Health literacy – a tool for health promotion focuses on health literacy as a concept and studies how the Nordic countries work with health literacy, whether that be strategically or practically.
In connection with the project an informal Nordic network on health literacy has been established, in which all the Nordic countries participate.
The project’s target groups include ministries, government agencies, municipalities, and regional authorities.
Results and timetable
A report focusing on health literacy as a concept, the consequences of inadequate health literacy, both for the individual and for society, as well as health literacy as a political choice and commitment. The report will focus in particular on immigrants and immigrant women who are at risk of limited health literacy. The report will provide an introduction to how the Nordic countries are working with health literacy both at national level and exemplified by practical examples.
The report will be published in spring 2022.
Reports
Public health
2 Jun 2022
Health literacy in the Nordic countries – Not only a determinant of health, but also a tool for health promotion
Many determinants help to define our health. One of these is health literacy, which also serves as a mediating and moderating fact [...]
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