Table 1

Activities recommended for five health literacy development action areas10

Country-level or region-level starting pointAction area 1: prepare for national health literacy development and responsiveness

  • Establish a health literacy coordination unit (preferably across government ministries) to oversee and be responsible for health literacy preparation activities

  • Develop an understanding of health literacy that is contextually appropriate and meaningful in local language(s)

  • Measure health literacy to identify and understand differences about who is being left behind and why

  • Integrate health literacy into existing NCD policies and programmes

  • Enhance the reach and acceptability of WHO Best Buys and other recommended interventions for the prevention and control of NCDs

  • Identify and overcome barriers to health literacy development and responsiveness

Actively build health literacy through three streams of workAction area 2: build health literacy responsive health systems

  • Build the health literacy responsiveness of health organisations

  • Codesign health literacy responsive actions using the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) process.19

  • Choose an appropriate framework to assess organisational health literacy responsiveness

  • Improve the health literacy responsiveness of health workers

  • Incorporate health literacy responsive practice into health education curricula and continuing professional development

Action area 3: build community health literacy

  • Establish community health worker programmes

  • Implement the WHO Action for Healthier Families Toolkit

  • Strengthen the competencies of trusted community leaders and connectors

Action area 4: target priority groups

  • Identify and prioritise groups that are not engaging effectively with health information and healthcare services

  • Apply health literacy and codesign principles when implementing digital services to maximise participation

Integrate and scale-upAction area 5: Integrate health literacy at national through to local levels

  • Develop a national NCD action plan that integrates action areas 1–4

  • Establish National Health Literacy Demonstration Projects supported by communities of practice

  • Establish a health literacy knowledge repository

  • Scale-up actions that work

  • NCD, non-communicable disease.