Health Literacy & Public Health:
Strategies for Addressing Low Health Literacy

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An updated version of this training launched on March 30th, 2021.

This training, second in a series, provides practical techniques for addressing literacy issues in spoken and written communications. Be sure to first complete Health Literacy & Public Health: Introduction as the information in this second module builds upon the fundamentals and concepts provided in the first module.

Learning Outcome

As a result of this activity the learner will enhance their knowledge and competence in strategies for addressing low health literacy.

Objectives

After completing the course, the learner will be able to:

  • List techniques to improve health communication.
  • Define plain language.
  • Describe why we use the universal precautions for health literacy.
  • Describe communication barriers.
  • Consider social and emotional communication challenges.
  • Consider individuals' attitudes towards a topic.
  • Identify how to find reliable health information on the Internet and on social media.
  • Review best practices that will help you design written materials.

Continuing Education Credits

CNE Credits offered until April 30, 2025. CHES, CME, CPH Credits offered until March 31, 2027.

Sponsored by the College of Integrated Health Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY, a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 1.0 total Category I contact education contact hours. Maximum advanced-level continuing education contact hours available are 0. Continuing Competency credits available are 1.0. Provider ID# 99086.

There is a $5.00 fee for this credit (debit/credit card only), payable at the end of the training.

The University at Albany College of Integrated Health Sciences is approved with distinction as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Northeast Multistate Division Education Unit, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

This offering is approved for 1.0 nursing contact hours.

The nursing contact hour(s) expire: 4/30/2025.

There is a $5.00 fee for this credit (debit/credit card only), payable at the end of the training.

The College of Integrated Health Sciences, University at Albany is accredited by the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The College of Integrated Health Sciences, University at Albany designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

There is a $5.00 fee for this credit (debit/credit card only), payable at the end of the training.

This event is sponsored by the College of Integrated Health Sciences, University at Albany, an approved provider of CPH Renewal Credits by the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

This offering is approved for 1.0 Certified in Public Health Renewal Credits.

There is a $5.00 fee for this credit (debit/credit card only), payable at the end of the training.

Participants who successfully complete this educational program will be awarded 1.0 NJ Public Health Continuing Education Contact Hours (CEs). The Rutgers School of Public Health Center for Public Health Workforce Development has been approved by the New Jersey Department of Health as a provider of New Jersey Public Health Continuing Education Contact Hours (CEs).
To receive NJPH Credits for this course, please email your certificate of completion to Kendra Julien, kj446@sph.rutgers.edu.

1.0 hours of Generic Continuing Education Credits.

Enroll in training

Employed by / in New York?

Employees of New York's state and local health departments should enroll through the nylearnsph.com website.

Enroll on nylearnsph.com

  • Training launched: June 1, 2006
    Last updated March 30, 2021
  • Estimated time: 1 hour
  • Training is free and open to the public

The planners, moderator, and presenters do not have any financial arrangements or affiliations with any ineligible companies whose products, research, or services may be discussed in this activity.

No commercial funding has been accepted for this activity.

Debugging Information
ColdFusion Server Enterprise 2021,0,18,330341
Template /learning/default.cfm
Time Stamp 02-Apr-25 10:18 AM
Locale English (US)
User Agent Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)
Remote IP 13.58.55.46
Host Name 13.58.55.46

Execution Time

Total Time Avg Time Count Template
31 ms 31 ms 1 top level C:\webs\phtcOnline\learning\default.cfm
31 ms 31 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates.cfc | getAllCeCertificates(17, true) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates.cfc
11 ms 11 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc | init(695) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc
5 ms 5 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc | init(697) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc
0 ms 0 ms 1 C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/customtags/template.cfm
0 ms 0 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/Application.cfc | onRequestStart(/learning/default.cfm) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/Application.cfc
0 ms 0 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc | init(404) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc
0 ms 0 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc | init(554) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc
0 ms 0 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc | init(696) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc
0 ms 0 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc | init(725) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/assets/cfc/certificates/ce-credit.cfc
0 ms 0 ms 1 CFC[ C:/webs/phtcOnline/learning/courses/orientation-to-ph/Application.cfc | checkIfPositiveInteger(17) ] from C:/webs/phtcOnline/learning/courses/orientation-to-ph/Application.cfc
0 ms  STARTUP, PARSING, COMPILING, LOADING, & SHUTDOWN
31 ms  TOTAL EXECUTION TIME
red = over 250 ms average execution time

SQL Queries

courseInfo (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\learning\default.cfm @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	c.*, s.seriesTitle
		FROM 	tblCourses c LEFT OUTER JOIN tblCourseSeries s ON c.seriesId = s.seriesId
		WHERE 	courseId = ? AND
				active = 1
			
				AND development = 0
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(SMALLINT) = 17

enrollmentInfo (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=0) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\learning\default.cfm @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	registrationDate, completedDate
		FROM 	tblUserCourses
		WHERE 	courseId = ? AND
				uniqueUserId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(SMALLINT) = 17
Parameter #2(INTEGER) = 0

local.certs (Datasource=ESDB, Time=15ms, Records=6) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	cr.creditId
			FROM 	tblCeCredits cr INNER JOIN tblCeCreditCategories cc ON cr.creditCatId = cc.creditCatId
			WHERE 	cr.courseId = ? AND 
					cr.creditStartDate <= CAST(GETDATE() AS date) AND
					(
						cr.creditEndDate IS NULL OR 
						cr.creditEndDate >= CAST(GETDATE() AS date)
					)
				
			ORDER BY cc.displayOrder
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallint) = 17

local.certInfo (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT  c.certificateTitle, c.certWrapper, cr.creditTitle, cr.courseId, cr.creditId, cr.creditRequirement, cr.creditStartDate, cr.creditEndDate, cr.expirationDate, cr.trainingIdForCert, cl.creditLanguage, cl.certFormatter, cc.abbreviation, p.productCode, p.price
			FROM    tblCECredits cr INNER JOIN tblCeCreditLanguage cl ON cr.ceLanguageId = cl.ceLanguageId
						INNER JOIN tblCourses c ON cr.courseId = c.courseId
						INNER JOIN tblCeCreditCategories cc ON cr.creditCatId = cc.creditCatId
						LEFT OUTER JOIN tblProducts p ON cr.productCode = p.productCode
			WHERE	cr.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallint) = 696

local.getCreditCounts (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=3) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	t.creditHourTypeLabel, h.creditHourCount
			FROM 	tblCeCreditHourTypes t INNER JOIN tblCeCreditHourCounts h ON t.creditHourTypeId = h.creditHourTypeId
			WHERE 	h.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallInt) = 696

local.certInfo (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT  c.certificateTitle, c.certWrapper, cr.creditTitle, cr.courseId, cr.creditId, cr.creditRequirement, cr.creditStartDate, cr.creditEndDate, cr.expirationDate, cr.trainingIdForCert, cl.creditLanguage, cl.certFormatter, cc.abbreviation, p.productCode, p.price
			FROM    tblCECredits cr INNER JOIN tblCeCreditLanguage cl ON cr.ceLanguageId = cl.ceLanguageId
						INNER JOIN tblCourses c ON cr.courseId = c.courseId
						INNER JOIN tblCeCreditCategories cc ON cr.creditCatId = cc.creditCatId
						LEFT OUTER JOIN tblProducts p ON cr.productCode = p.productCode
			WHERE	cr.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallint) = 725

local.getCreditCounts (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	t.creditHourTypeLabel, h.creditHourCount
			FROM 	tblCeCreditHourTypes t INNER JOIN tblCeCreditHourCounts h ON t.creditHourTypeId = h.creditHourTypeId
			WHERE 	h.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallInt) = 725

local.certInfo (Datasource=ESDB, Time=11ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT  c.certificateTitle, c.certWrapper, cr.creditTitle, cr.courseId, cr.creditId, cr.creditRequirement, cr.creditStartDate, cr.creditEndDate, cr.expirationDate, cr.trainingIdForCert, cl.creditLanguage, cl.certFormatter, cc.abbreviation, p.productCode, p.price
			FROM    tblCECredits cr INNER JOIN tblCeCreditLanguage cl ON cr.ceLanguageId = cl.ceLanguageId
						INNER JOIN tblCourses c ON cr.courseId = c.courseId
						INNER JOIN tblCeCreditCategories cc ON cr.creditCatId = cc.creditCatId
						LEFT OUTER JOIN tblProducts p ON cr.productCode = p.productCode
			WHERE	cr.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallint) = 695

local.getCreditCounts (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	t.creditHourTypeLabel, h.creditHourCount
			FROM 	tblCeCreditHourTypes t INNER JOIN tblCeCreditHourCounts h ON t.creditHourTypeId = h.creditHourTypeId
			WHERE 	h.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallInt) = 695

local.certInfo (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT  c.certificateTitle, c.certWrapper, cr.creditTitle, cr.courseId, cr.creditId, cr.creditRequirement, cr.creditStartDate, cr.creditEndDate, cr.expirationDate, cr.trainingIdForCert, cl.creditLanguage, cl.certFormatter, cc.abbreviation, p.productCode, p.price
			FROM    tblCECredits cr INNER JOIN tblCeCreditLanguage cl ON cr.ceLanguageId = cl.ceLanguageId
						INNER JOIN tblCourses c ON cr.courseId = c.courseId
						INNER JOIN tblCeCreditCategories cc ON cr.creditCatId = cc.creditCatId
						LEFT OUTER JOIN tblProducts p ON cr.productCode = p.productCode
			WHERE	cr.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallint) = 697

local.getCreditCounts (Datasource=ESDB, Time=5ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	t.creditHourTypeLabel, h.creditHourCount
			FROM 	tblCeCreditHourTypes t INNER JOIN tblCeCreditHourCounts h ON t.creditHourTypeId = h.creditHourTypeId
			WHERE 	h.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallInt) = 697

local.certInfo (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT  c.certificateTitle, c.certWrapper, cr.creditTitle, cr.courseId, cr.creditId, cr.creditRequirement, cr.creditStartDate, cr.creditEndDate, cr.expirationDate, cr.trainingIdForCert, cl.creditLanguage, cl.certFormatter, cc.abbreviation, p.productCode, p.price
			FROM    tblCECredits cr INNER JOIN tblCeCreditLanguage cl ON cr.ceLanguageId = cl.ceLanguageId
						INNER JOIN tblCourses c ON cr.courseId = c.courseId
						INNER JOIN tblCeCreditCategories cc ON cr.creditCatId = cc.creditCatId
						LEFT OUTER JOIN tblProducts p ON cr.productCode = p.productCode
			WHERE	cr.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallint) = 554

local.getCreditCounts (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	t.creditHourTypeLabel, h.creditHourCount
			FROM 	tblCeCreditHourTypes t INNER JOIN tblCeCreditHourCounts h ON t.creditHourTypeId = h.creditHourTypeId
			WHERE 	h.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallInt) = 554

local.certInfo (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT  c.certificateTitle, c.certWrapper, cr.creditTitle, cr.courseId, cr.creditId, cr.creditRequirement, cr.creditStartDate, cr.creditEndDate, cr.expirationDate, cr.trainingIdForCert, cl.creditLanguage, cl.certFormatter, cc.abbreviation, p.productCode, p.price
			FROM    tblCECredits cr INNER JOIN tblCeCreditLanguage cl ON cr.ceLanguageId = cl.ceLanguageId
						INNER JOIN tblCourses c ON cr.courseId = c.courseId
						INNER JOIN tblCeCreditCategories cc ON cr.creditCatId = cc.creditCatId
						LEFT OUTER JOIN tblProducts p ON cr.productCode = p.productCode
			WHERE	cr.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallint) = 404

local.getCreditCounts (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=1) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\assets\cfc\certificates\ce-credit.cfc @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	t.creditHourTypeLabel, h.creditHourCount
			FROM 	tblCeCreditHourTypes t INNER JOIN tblCeCreditHourCounts h ON t.creditHourTypeId = h.creditHourTypeId
			WHERE 	h.creditId = ?
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(smallInt) = 404

upcomingC4C (Datasource=ESDB, Time=0ms, Records=0) in C:\webs\phtcOnline\learning\default.cfm @ 10:18:58.058
SELECT 	b.creditTitle, b.creditStartDate
		FROM 	(
					SELECT 	*
					FROM 	tblCECredits
					WHERE 	courseId = ? AND 
							creditStartDate <= CAST(GETDATE() AS date) AND
							creditEndDate >= CAST(GETDATE() AS date) AND 
							productCode IS NULL
				) a 
				INNER JOIN 
				(
					SELECT 	*
					FROM	tblCeCredits
					WHERE	courseId = ? AND 
							creditStartDate >= CAST(GETDATE() AS date) AND
							productCode IS NOT NULL
					) b
				ON a.creditCatId = b.creditCatId
		ORDER BY creditStartDate, creditTitle
Query Parameter Value(s) -
Parameter #1(SMALLINT) = 17
Parameter #2(SMALLINT) = 17

Scope Variables

CGI Variables:
AUTH_PASSWORD=
AUTH_TYPE=
AUTH_USER=
CERT_COOKIE=
CERT_FLAGS=
CERT_ISSUER=
CERT_KEYSIZE=256
CERT_SECRETKEYSIZE=4096
CERT_SERIALNUMBER=
CERT_SERVER_ISSUER=C=US, S=Arizona, L=Scottsdale, O="GoDaddy.com, Inc.", OU=http://certs.godaddy.com/repository/, CN=Go Daddy Secure Certificate Authority - G2
CERT_SERVER_SUBJECT=CN=www.phtc-online.org
CERT_SUBJECT=
CF_TEMPLATE_PATH=C:\webs\phtcOnline\learning\default.cfm
CONTENT_LENGTH=0
CONTENT_TYPE=
CONTEXT_PATH=
GATEWAY_INTERFACE=CGI/1.1
HTTPS=on
HTTPS_KEYSIZE=256
HTTPS_SECRETKEYSIZE=4096
HTTPS_SERVER_ISSUER=C=US, S=Arizona, L=Scottsdale, O="GoDaddy.com, Inc.", OU=http://certs.godaddy.com/repository/, CN=Go Daddy Secure Certificate Authority - G2
HTTPS_SERVER_SUBJECT=CN=www.phtc-online.org
HTTP_ACCEPT=*/*
HTTP_ACCEPT_ENCODING=gzip, br, zstd, deflate
HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE=
HTTP_CONNECTION=close
HTTP_COOKIE=CFTOKEN=4f14e02d56c9aec2-A4A17B63-AD77-BDFD-F2518D31615FE76F; CFID=1799490
HTTP_HOST=phtc-online.org
HTTP_REFERER=https://phtc-online.org/utility/catalog-redirect.cfm?path=phlit02
HTTP_URL=/learning/default.cfm?courseId=17
HTTP_USER_AGENT=Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)
LOCAL_ADDR=169.226.63.108
PATH_INFO=
PATH_TRANSLATED=C:\webs\phtcOnline\learning\default.cfm
QUERY_STRING=courseId=17
REMOTE_ADDR=13.58.55.46
REMOTE_HOST=13.58.55.46
REMOTE_USER=
REQUEST_METHOD=GET
SCRIPT_NAME=/learning/default.cfm
SERVER_NAME=phtc-online.org
SERVER_PORT=443
SERVER_PORT_SECURE=1
SERVER_PROTOCOL=HTTP/1.1
SERVER_SOFTWARE=Microsoft-IIS/10.0
WEB_SERVER_API=

Cookie Variables:
CFID=1799490
CFTOKEN=4f14e02d56c9aec2-A4A17B63-AD77-BDFD-F2518D31615FE76F

Session Variables:
firstname=
lastname=
uniqueuserid=0
urltoken=CFID=1799490&CFTOKEN=4f14e02d56c9aec2-A4A17B63-AD77-BDFD-F2518D31615FE76F
useremail=
username=
userpermissions=

URL Parameters:
courseId=17
Debug Rendering Time: 0 ms