Health Information Week 2023 - Health Literacy

Today marks the start of Health Information Week, a national campaign promoting high-quality evidence based information to patients and the public. It aims to improve lives by raising awareness of the importance and impact that access to high quality information can have on people's health. This can mean different things, from having simple, jargon-free patient leaflets for understanding complex health conditions, to having the right kind of information about various health services offered by local trusts. Such steps can be critical to improving people's ability to manage their health and wellbeing.

The size of this issue is apparent when we consider that more than 4 in 10 adults have difficulty understanding health information written for the public. Medical information can be difficult to navigate – it might include complicated information, medical jargon, or be presented at a reading level which is not accessible for a  large proportion of the population.  For example, in the UK, 7.1 million adults read at, or below, the level of an average 9 year old .

You can find out more from UCL Library, we offer a range of free information literacy and library skills sessions, as well as online resources, to GOSH staff. Take a look at the library skills support available.
 
GOSH staff can also access and use the NHS's e-learning package for health literacy. You can find a link to it on the foot of the Knowledge and Library Hub main webpage under 'Other resources', please see below.