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Peer Leader Navigators Cohort

What is Health Literacy?

Health literacy is the degree to which an individual has the ability to  obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make health decisions.

Health literacy includes the skills of:

  • reading
  • listening
  • making decisions
  • applying these skills to health situations

Good health literacy skills can improve your health. A person's health has a strong link with his/her health literacy level—more than:

  • age
  • income
  • work status
  • education
  • race

Examples