Health Literacy

Health literacy skills can help you make an informed decision about and activity participate in biomedical research. The following resources can be used to support health literacy in your community.

Learn How to Judge a Health Claim

You see health claims all the time in the news, in ads, on social media, and talking with your family and friends. Sometimes they are powerful, like a headline shouting “Miracle cure discovered!” Other times they are familiar, like a friend telling you to eat spicy food to reduce arthritis pain. Sometimes it is hard to separate the facts from the scams.

By engaging with this series of seven short learning activities, you will learn a few simple rules to help you assess the trustworthiness of health information, and how to find the information you need to make health decisions. These activities are available in English and Spanish.

  • Learn How to Judge a Health Claim

    Treatments Can Cause Harm

    This is the first of seven short learning activities. By engaging with these activities, you will learn a few simple rules to help you assess the trustworthiness of health information, and how to find the information you need to make health decisions. These activities are available in English and Spanish.

    Start Activity One
  • Learn How to Judge a Health Claim

    Personal Stories are Unreliable

    This is the second of seven short learning activities. By engaging with these activities, you will learn a few simple rules to help you assess the trustworthiness of health information, and how to find the information you need to make health decisions. These activities are available in English and Spanish.

    Start Activity Two
  • Learn How to Judge a Health Claim

    Expert Opinion is Not Enough

    This is the third of seven short learning activities. By engaging with these activities, you will learn a few simple rules to help you assess the trustworthiness of health information, and how to find the information you need to make health decisions. These activities are available in English and Spanish.

    Start Activity Three
  • Learn How to Judge a Health Claim

    The Role of Comparison

    This is the fourth of seven short learning activities. By engaging with these activities, you will learn a few simple rules to help you assess the trustworthiness of health information, and how to find the information you need to make health decisions. These activities are available in English and Spanish.

    Start Activity Four
  • Learn How to Judge a Health Claim

    Comparing Like with Like

    This is the fifth of seven short learning activities. By engaging with these activities, you will learn a few simple rules to help you assess the trustworthiness of health information, and how to find the information you need to make health decisions. These activities are available in English and Spanish.

    Start Activity Five
  • Learn How to Judge a Health Claim

    The Role of Blinding

    This is the sixth of seven short learning activities. By engaging with these activities, you will learn a few simple rules to help you assess the trustworthiness of health information, and how to find the information you need to make health decisions. These activities are available in English and Spanish.

    Start Activity Six
  • Learn How to Judge a Health Claim

    Size Matters

    This is the last of seven short learning activities. By engaging with these activities, you will learn a few simple rules to help you assess the trustworthiness of health information, and how to find the information you need to make health decisions. These activities are available in English and Spanish.

    Start Activity Seven

Understanding Health Equity

Health equity is when everyone has the chance to be as healthy and as happy as they can be. Health inequity—which happens everywhere, not just in developing countries—is not a simple problem to solve. Knowing what it is and being able to recognize it is a very important first step. This series of activities will help you understand why equality (treating everyone the same way) is not the same as equity, and how “the three D’s” (diversity, discrimination, and disparities) interact to create situations where some people are disadvantaged in ways that affect their health. The final case study lets you apply what you’ve learned to show how health inequity is both avoidable and fixable.

  • Equity Module #1

    What is Health Equity?

    This is the first of six short modules. By engaging with this module, you will learn what health equity is, and how equity is different than equality.

    Start Module One
  • Equity Module #2

    Health Inequity: Diversity, Discrimination, and Disparity

    This is the second of six short modules. By engaging with this module, you will learn to identify health inequity and how “the three D’s” interact to create situations where some people are disadvantaged in ways that affect their health.

    Start Module Two
  • Equity Module #3

    Health Inequity and How We Live

    This is the third of six short modules. By engaging with this module, you will learn how the ways and places we live impact our health.

    Start Module Three
  • Equity Module #4

    Health Inequity and Where We Live

    This is the fourth of six short modules. By engaging with this module, you will learn how the environment in which we live impacts our health.

    Start Module Four
  • Equity Module #5

    Health Equity: The Big City Case Study, Part 1

    This is the fifth of six short modules. By engaging in this module, you will see how a variety of factors contribute to health disparities.

    Start Module Five
  • Equity Module #6

    Health Equity: The Big City Case Study, Part 2

    This is the sixth and final short module in this series. By engaging with this module, you will see how addressing some health disparities can lead to better health equity.

    Start Module Six

Prevention and Awareness Topics

The calendar is full of months and days dedicated to prevention and awareness of many health topics. The NNLM All of Us Program Center (NAPC) hosts a growing collecting of online activities, programs and resources that you can use to share and celebrate health, learn about prevention, and raise awareness of health-related campaigns. By engaging with these tools, you will learn about national health observances, prevention and awareness topics. These resources are available in English and Spanish.

  • Prevention and Awareness - Cervical

    Cervical Health Awareness Month Toolkit

    January is Cervical and Thyroid Health Awareness Month. This toolkit includes icons, infographics and a one-page information guide that you can use in online promotions to create awareness for cervical health.

    Browse This Toolkit
  • Prevention and Awareness - Thyroid

    Thyroid Health Awareness Month Toolkit

    January is Cervical and Thyroid Health Awareness Month. This toolkit includes icons, infographics and a one-page information guide that you can use in online promotions to create awareness for thyroid health. This toolkit is available in English and Spanish.

    Browse This Toolkit
  • Prevention and Awareness - Diabetes

    Diabetes Prevention – Estimating Healthy Food Portions

    November is American Diabetes Month. By engaging with this brief tutorial, you will learn how to estimate healthy food portions using your hands, and how keeping a healthy weight can help to prevent type-2 diabetes. You can also share this tutorial to create awareness for diabetes prevention. This tutorial is available in English and Spanish.

    Take the Tutorial

Learning Games and Tools

  • COVID 19 Game

    COVID-19 Memory Game

    The COVID-19 Memory Game is an online, family-friendly activity to help you understand COVID-19 and what you can do to stay healthy and safe. To play the game, you will match cards with the same picture. By playing this game, you will learn information on health topics and healthy activities.

    This game is based on the printable La Loteria game developed by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, and is available in English and Spanish.

    Play This Game
This page was last updated on: 04/12/23 13:32