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What is an Organizational Health Literacy Toolkit?
This self-guided toolkit is linked to resources for organizations looking to make changes to improve the accessibility, understandability, and use of their health information and services by their end users (patients or clients). Each resource or tool has a description and an example of why you would want to use it.
Why Should Organizations Use this Toolkit?
All organizations have a responsibility to critically self-evaluate for needed health literacy improvements. Making this effort helps increase health equity in our community. The toolkit can be used by both clinical and non-clinical organizations. Many people have more trust with their community organizations and social service agencies than with traditional health care and prefer to use them for their basic health education needs. Health Confianza’s Pledge Program has demonstrated that these resources are applicable to any organization that aims to educate its clients on health.
Who is this Toolkit for?
Successful changes are made when the organization brings together a diverse team to work together to improve OHL. This toolkit can be used by staff who are looking for concrete tools to make organizational health literacy (OHL) changes. Such staff may be patient educators, medical directors, administrators, marketing and communications specialists, human resources personnel, and more.
Back to the Pledge Program page.
Organizational Health Literacy Toolkit
- Readability of Materials
What grade level is your text and is it written in plain language?
Resource/Tool Brief Description What it Provides Example Health Literacy Advisor
*This is the only listed tool that has a cost. Health Confianza has a subscription and may be able to assist you.Software tool for Microsoft Word to assess and improve readability of documents. Text readability, plain language suggestions, a style guide You want to make sure your handout is in plain language. SMOG Readability Formula A formula that scores text based on the complexity of its sentences and words. It estimates the years of education a person needs to understand a piece of writing. Grade level of material You want to score an entire text or a random passage to determine the grade level required to read it. Here is an example of how to do a calculation. - Design of Materials for Understanding/Actionability
Can the end user successfully use your materials to take an action?
Resource/Tool Brief Description What it Provides Example Clear Communication Index A tool from the CDC that helps you develop and assess public communication materials based on a set of 20 scored items. Score of the clarity of your communication product You want to encourage people to get a flu shot and want to make sure that your message to the public is effective. Federal Plain Language Guidelines Official guidelines from The Plain Writing Act of 2010 that requires that federal agencies use clear communication that the public can understand and use. Guidelines on how to write clearly You want to make sure your agency is adhering to plain language best practices so that users can find, understand, and use your information. Health Literacy Online These are guidelines from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion to develop easy-to-understand websites and mobile devices. Recommendations on how to create online health content You want to work with your website administrator to ensure your organization’s website can most effectively be understood and used by your clients. PEMAT (Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool) A guide from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) that uses a systematic method to evaluate and compare the understandability and actionability of patient education materials. The website offers an Excel scoring form. An understandability score and an actionability score of materials You need to choose from several patient education materials your agency will distribute on childhood vaccination. You want help deciding which are the easiest to understand and act upon. Simply Put A guide from the CDC for strategies that transform complicated scientific and technical information into communication that your audience can understand and use. Covers design, visuals, readability, and more. Practical steps to organize information and use language and visuals You need help developing a fact sheet about COVID-19 transmission that is organized, clear and relatable to the reader. - Organizational Health Literacy Self-Assessment
What tools can your organization use to self-assess for current health literacy practices?
Resource/Tool Brief Description What it Provides Example Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit A toolkit from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) of resources to help an organization make health literacy improvement in 5 areas through concrete actions. 23 tools with concrete actions and 40 resources to make organizational health literacy improvements Your primary care practice is seeking to get started with identifying areas for health-literacy related improvement and begins with these actions. HLE2: The Health Literacy Environment of Hospitals and Health Centers This is a health literacy self-assessment tool for identifying an organization’s facilitators and barriers to information, care, and services in 5 areas. While it was created for health care agencies, it can be used by any organization that provides some amount of health education and/or services. Self-assessment scores in 5 areas of an organization (policy, practice, communication, navigation, and culture) Your organization wants to score itself in the areas of policies, practices, navigation, culture and language, and communication. The Health Literacy Environment Activity Packet: First Impressions and Walking Interview This tool focuses specifically on the navigation of facilities. It evaluates first impressions such as requesting directions by calling the main number and physical navigation through a walking interview. An observation checklist to evaluate the ease of navigation at a facility You would like to engage volunteers to objectively review your facility’s navigability using this checklist. - Practice Recommendations
What are some resources that will help your organization make actionable changes for improving health literacy?
Resource/Tool Brief Description What it Provides Example Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit A toolkit from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) of resources to help an organization make health literacy improvement in 5 areas through concrete actions. 23 tools with concrete actions and 40 resources to make organizational health literacy improvements Your practice would like to implement a set of concrete actions for achieving change, such as addressing language differences and making referrals easy. Building Health Literate Organizations This guidebook describes how to make organizational change based on the Ten Attributes of a Health Literate Organization. A resource guide describing how to make health literacy organization changes with a case study Your organizational team that is planning organizational health literacy change wants a guidebook that takes them through a step-by-step process. National CLAS Standards The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services has developed 15 action steps as a blueprint to implement culturally and linguistically appropriate services. The goal of these actions is to reduce health disparities and advance health equity. 15 action steps towards achieving cultural and linguistics standards in health Your organization wants to implement federally recognized culture and language standards to ensure it is providing equitable, responsive, and respectful care. Making Health Literacy Real The CDC created this easy-to-use template to help organizations plan changes to improve health literacy. A fill-in-the blank template of an organizational health literacy plan Your organization wants an actionable template to create its Organizational Health Literacy Plan with goals and objectives. Questions Are the Answer The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). developed a public campaign to improve patient engagement in healthcare by encouraging questions with understanding. A multimedia campaign for patient engagement with an app, videos, handouts and more Your organization is looking for a ready-to-implement health literacy campaign to promote better engagement by patients and clients with your services. Ten Attributes of Health Literate Health Care Organizations A 2012 National Academies Roundtable identified 10 attributes of a health literate health care organization. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) coupled these attributes with specific resources. List of the Ten Attributes of a Health Literate Organization with resources to help achieve each attribute Your organization wants to set goals for becoming a more health literate organization that are based on national recommendations. - Policy
What are policy guides and recommendations that can support your health literacy case?
Resource/Tool Brief Description What it Provides Example Health Literacy in the United States: Enhancing Assessments and Reducing Disparities This 2022 report by the Milken Institute describes the state of health literacy in the U.S., identifies policy priority areas, and provides recommendations. A PDF report of health literacy in the U.S. with specific policy recommendations You want a recent report to share with your stakeholders that provides policy recommendations. Healthy People 2030 The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services sets these public health decade milestones for the nation. For the first time in 2030, organizational health literacy was defined, emphasizing the role organizations and systems have in addressing health literacy. A list and explanation of the nation’s health literacy objectives to be achieved by 2030 Your organization wants to align its specific health literacy objectives with national objectives. National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy The U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services issued this report in 2010 as a national call to improve health literacy, particularly through actions by organizations and professions. A PDF report of health literacy in the U.S. with seven goals for improving health literacy and strategies to achieve them You want to refer to the sentinel report that first described the responsibility of organizations and systems in improving health literacy.