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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Gill Rowlands
This is the authors' accepted manuscript of a book chapter that has been published in its final definitive form by IOS Press, 2017.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Accessible and responsive health systems are critical to population health and human development. While progress has been made toward global health and development targets, significant inequities remain within and between countries. Expanding health inequities suggest a widespread and systemic neglect of vulnerable citizens, and a failure to enshrine within policies a responsibility to tailor care to the variable capabilities of citizens. Implementation of health and social policies that drive the design of accessible health systems, services, products and infrastructure represents the next frontier for health reform. Within this chapter we argue the need to consider health and health literacy across policy domains, to operationalize the intent to address inequities in health in meaningful and pragmatic ways, and to actively monitor progress and impact within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We contend that viewing and developing policies and systems within a health literacy framework will assist in placing citizens and equity considerations at the center of development efforts. In this chapter, we explore the relationship between health literacy and equitable access to health care, and the role of health system and policy reform. We first explore international policies, health literacy, and the SDGs. We then explore national policies and the role that national and local services and systems play in building health literacy, and responding to the health literacy challenges of citizens. We discuss the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework for Integrated People-Centered Health Services and the way in which health services are being encouraged to understand and respond to citizen health literacy needs. Each section of the chapter ends with a summary and a review of health literacy research and practice. Throughout, we illustrate our points through ‘vignettes’ from around the world.
Author(s): Rowlands G, Dodson S, Leung A, Levin-Zamir D
Editor(s): Robert A. Logan, Elliot R. Siegel
Publication type: Book Chapter
Publication status: Published
Book Title: Health literacy: new directions in research, theory, and practice
Year: 2017
Volume: 240
Pages: 359-391
Print publication date: 17/10/2017
Acceptance date: 30/06/2017
Series Title: Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
Publisher: IOS Press
Place Published: Amsterdam
URL: https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-790-0-359
DOI: 10.3233/978-1-61499-790-0-359
Library holdings: Search Newcastle University Library for this item
ISBN: 9781614997894