Health Literacy Search

The MEDLINE/PubMed health literacy search retrieves citations to English language journal literature. See details of the search strategy below.

Search Details

The Reference and Web Services Section of the National Library of Medicine created and maintains this health literacy search strategy.

health literacy[mesh] OR (health[ti] AND literacy[ti]) OR ("health literacy" OR "health literate" OR "medical literacy") OR (functional[tw] AND health[tw] AND literacy[tw]) OR numeracy OR ((low literate[ti] OR low literacy[ti] OR literacy[ti] OR illiteracy[ti] OR literate[ti] OR illiterate[ti] OR reading[mh] OR comprehension[mh] OR "information literacy"[mesh]) AND (health promotion[major] OR health education[major] OR patient education[major] OR Communication Barriers[major] OR communication[major:noexp] OR health knowledge,attitudes,practice[major] OR attitude to health[major])) OR (comprehension[major] AND educational status[major]) OR (family[ti] AND literacy[ti]) OR (("drug labeling" OR Prescriptions [mh]) AND ("comprehension" OR "numeracy")) OR "low health literacy"[tw] OR "ehealth literacy"[tw] OR "limited health literacy"[tw] OR "low numeracy"[tw] OR ((cancer[ti] OR diabetes[ti]) AND (literacy[ti] OR comprehension[ti])) OR "adult literacy" OR "limited literacy" OR "patient understanding"[ti] OR "disease knowledge"[tw] OR ((self care [major] "self care"[tw] OR "self-care"[tw]) AND perception[mh]) OR (comprehension AND food labeling[mh]) OR (comprehension AND informed consent) OR (comprehension AND insurance, health) AND English[la]

Health Literacy Information Resources

• NLM and NIH resources:
  • Clear Communication: an NIH Health Literacy Initiative, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • Health Literacy, Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM)
  • NLM Current Bibliographies in Medicine 2000-1: Health Literacy (or PDF)
  • NLM Current Bibliographies in Medicine 2004-1: Understanding Health Literacy and its Barriers
  • Proceedings of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Improving Health Literacy, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, Sep 7, 2006
• HHS and Other Federal Government Resources:
  • Health Literacy, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
  • Health Literacy, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Health Literacy, health.gov, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP)
  • Health literacy online: A guide for simplifying the user experience, 2nd edition
  • Health Literacy Page, Health Resources and Services Administration(HRSA)
  • National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) Health Literacy, 2003. The first large-scale national assessment in the United States to contain a component designed specifically to measure health literacy. US Department of Education.
  • PlainLanguage.gov Health Literacy, General Services Administration (GSA)
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Health Literacy Committee Opinion Number 676, October 2016.
  • American Health Insurance Professionals (AHIP) Health Literacy Page
  • Health Literacy Out Loud Podcasts, Health Literacy Consulting
  • Always Use Teach-back! training toolkit, UnityPoint Health, Picker Institute, Health Literacy Iowa, and Des Moines
  • Health Literacy Research Conference (HARC), Upcoming and past HARC conferences
  • The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Health Literacy. Discussion papers, commissioned papers, and previous meetings links, Workshop presentations from December 6, 2018