Expanding the learning health system model to be health literate

Abstract

Nearly nine out of ten adults struggle to understand and use personal and public health information[1].Low health literacy is an economic burden for the USA, costing US$238 billion or more annually and representing between7% and 17% of all personal healthcare expenditures[2]. In 2012, the National Academy of Medicine identified ten attributes that exemplify a health-literate healthcare organization, meaning an environment that enables people to understand, access and benefit optimally from the range of healthcare services[3]. Almost 10 years later, few, if any, healthcare organizations embody these key attributes. We can no longer focus on individuals’ aptitudes but must recognize and address the “health literacy-related demands and complexities of our healthcare organizations”[3].More recently, Healthy People 2030, the nation’s 10-year plan to improve the health of all Americans, featured, for the first time, health literacy in its framework. Further, it expanded health literacy to include a new organizational component, recognizing the essential role healthcare organizations play in improving health literacy. If the demands of healthcare organizations can better align with an individual’s literacy skills and abilities, language and culture, we can address many of the persistent obstacles to achieving health equity.