Skip Global navigation and goto content

Health Literacy

Florida Department of Health - Hillsborough County

What is Health Literacy?

Health literacy is the knowledge and skills people use to manage their health. People use health literacy skills in many everyday life situations such as:

Health literacy skills can also go up and down based on many things such as:

  • Stress levels
  • Experiences
  • Communication skills of doctors and other medical staff
  • Changing environments
  • Complex paperwork or situations
  • Cultural beliefs and expectations
  • New challenges
  • Financial resources
  • Age

How Can I Increase my Health Literacy?

Fortunately, people can learn health literacy skills to help them make health decisions. Anyone in the community who wants to improve their health literacy may find the following tip sheets helpful:
Community health literacy classes are also available. These hour-long classes help people with the skills and knowledge needed for a successful medical appointment and are provided by department of health staff through the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. Contact your local library or contact us to request a class.

Health professionals who are interested in helping their patients achieve better health literacy may find the following tip sheet helpful:

In What Other Ways is the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough (DOH-Hillsborough) Addressing Health Literacy?

Due to its impact on health, health literacy was added as one of DOH-Hillsborough’s Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) priority areas in 2017, and two priority populations are emphasized and led by a community advisory committee: County youth [PDF 76KB] and DOH-Hillsborough staff [PDF 78KB].

Where Can I Find More Information?