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Health Communication, Health Literacy, and e-Health

Improving health communication and utilizing health technologies are essential to promoting individual and population health. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) has pulled together key tools, research and reports, and resources for public health and health communication professionals. Choose a topic area to get started.

Photo of a teenage girl at a physician's office.

Discover best practices, research, and tools for improving health communication. Find health communication resources.

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Improving health literacy is critical for promoting health and is a priority for the Nation. HHS defines health literacy as the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Learn more about health literacy.

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e-Health is the use of information and communication technologies to improve people’s health and health care. Health information technology (IT) is increasingly a key component of effective health communication and services. Learn more about e-Health.

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The goal of this Healthy People 2020 topic area is to use health communication strategies and health IT to improve population health outcomes and health care quality and to achieve health equity. Learn more about the Health Communication and Health IT topic area.

Featured Update A grandfather learning about the computer with his granddaughters

Health Literacy Online: A Guide to Writing and Designing Easy-to-Use Health Web Sites is a research-based how-to guide for creating health Web sites and Web content for the millions of Americans with limited literacy skills and limited experience using the Web. Learn more.

 

This site is coordinated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.