Health Literacy: Essential for a Culture of Health

A culture of health requires a commitment from all-individuals, families, communities, organizations, and municipalities-to value health and make decisions reflective of a healthy society. At the individual level, health literacy is a necessary precursor to assist individuals in achieving a higher level of health.

One method for ensuring that staff members are routinely assessing and promoting health literacy is using competencies and practices previously identified for all health professions.

Cross-walking these competencies with the Health Literacy Tapestry model can be extremely helpful in framing assessment, action steps, and outcomes for nurses.

Professional development nurse leaders have the challenge of ensuring that nurses are addressing patient health literacy as a fundamental nursing activity in every nursing-patient-family interaction. Assuming health literacy deficits as a "universal approach" to care is one method of ensuring health literacy needs are routinely addressed by staff. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2018;49(2):73-78.