October is Health Literacy Month

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October is Health Literacy Month

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. Some of the key health literacy research findings are: 

• Everyone is at risk for misunderstanding health information if the topic is emotionally charged or complex.
• It is increasingly more difficult for people to separate evidence-based information, especially online, from misleading ads and gimmicks .

Learn other key research findings about health literacy by visiting the NIH website.

Sources cited on this webpage are current as of August 31, 2022.

Other Health Literacy Resources

The LHI has recorded a series of short videos, Health Online—How to Find Health Information You Can Trust, to help you learn how to find and understand health information that you find on the internet. View these videos by visiting the LHI's Healthy Habits, Healthy Lifestyle webpage.

Find all of the LHI's health information videos on our YouTube playlist webpage.

The LHI has more information to help you. Call us at (614) 293-3707 or email us at health-info@osu.edu, or stop by the LHI on the 5th floor atrium of Rhodes Hall at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. All information is free and confidential.

For more resources, please email your questions to an LHI librarian at health-info@osu.edu, or call us at 614-293-3707. All information is free and confidential.

The Library for Health Information is here for you. To find out more about the LHI, visit our web page.