title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING HEALTH LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, the month of October is National Health Literacy Awareness Month, a month-long initiative in the United States and worldwide, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of health literacy and promote the integration and expansion of health literacy programs; and
WHEREAS, better health literacy helps overcome barriers and challenges that may result in harm. Working collectively to improve health literacy can create a more equitable world where everyone can attain positive health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, health literacy and health outcomes are interconnected, with an estimated 14 percent, or 1 in 7, adults in the United States having below basic proficiency in health literacy; and
WHEREAS, limited health literacy is a barrier to accessing health information, proper medication use, and following instructions from a health care provider all of which may adversely affect health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Healthy People 2030, which sets data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade, defines personal health literacy as 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; and
WHEREAS, further, organizational health literacy is defined as the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others; and
WHEREAS, personal health literacy is a social risk, associated with worse health care and health outcomes because individuals with limited personal health literacy are at higher risk of misunderstanding information that is important to achieving and maintaining health or losing their way in the fragmented health care system; and
WHE...
Click here for full text