Health literacy

Health Literacy is the ability to make sound health decision in the context of every day life – at home, in the community, at the workplace, the health care system, the market place and the political arena. It is a critical empowerment strategy to increase people’s control over their health, their ability to seek out information and their ability to take responsibility.

Kickbusch, Maag, Health Literacy: towards active health citizenship 2005

Ilona Kickbusch is committed to the development of the concept of health literacy. The goal is to place health literacy as a key form of literacy in 21st century societies and as an important investment in population health. She lectures widely on the subject, has served on the advisory group of the Swiss health literacy survey > www.gesundheitskompetenz.ch.

She now serves on the advisory board for the 2009 Swiss Public Health Association Conference which will focus on Health literacy > www.public-health.ch.

NEW: (In English) Kickbusch I and Maag D Health Literacy. In: Kris Heggenhougen and Stella Quah, editors International Encyclopedia of Public Health, Vol 3. San Diego: Academic Press; 2008. pp. 204-211 > more (*.pdf)

(In German) Der aktuelle "Gesundheitsmonitor 2008" ist im November 2008 erschienen und beinhaltet auch ein Kapitel zur Gesundheitskompetenz: Ilona Kickbusch, Gerd Marstedt Gesundheitskompetenz: eine unterbelichtete Dimension sozialer Ungleichheit > mehr

Some key readings:

 

www.careum-congress.ch

 
News

Health and Foreign Policy: Plädoyer für einen Sachverständigenrat für Globale Gesundheit vor >>> mehr

White paper: The Food System launched at IUHPE 2010 Conference >>> more

Global health governance - at a recent EU meeting in Brussels Ilona Kickbusch outlined 10 challenges for global health governance >>> more

Health Literacy Lunch Debate at European Parliament >>> more

Ilona Kickbusch has been appointed as an associate fellow with the Chatham House Center on Global Health Security >>> more

Health in All Policies Website now up and running >>> more

Think Again! Time to recover or time to change? The Thinkers Return Series hosted by ABC's Fran Kelly more

6th World Ageing & Generations Congress (WGAC) >>> more