Center for Health Literacy Research + Practice

The Tufts Medicine Center for Health Literacy in Research & Practice develops, evaluates and disseminates new and effective health literacy discoveries and interventions. Our approach is interdisciplinary, collaborative and engages communities.

Approaches

• Bring together interdisciplinary teams of investigators, faculty and collaborators to conduct innovative health literacy research.
• Support health literacy education, training and professional development activities through universities and health systems.

Promote community engagement activities and partnerships by valuing and linking with existing resources and supporting new resources.

Excellent individual and organizational health literacy to achieve equity in health systems and eliminate health disparities. We believe in the power of crucial thinking, self-determination and trust.

Beliefs

• Health literacy is a type of power that is critical for self-determination.
• Societies that promote health literacy can take down discriminatory health care systems and eliminate public health disparities
• Health disparities are caused by social and environmental factors that can be addressed by improving health literacy.
• Health literacy, which includes the domains of numeracy and health insurance literacy, adds to the value of healthcare by decreasing cost and increasing quality.
• Critical health literacy, which includes the skills to evaluate and discern health misinformation and disinformation, will protect against another COVID-19 like infodemic.
• Health literacy is key to restoring the public’s trust in science and creating health systems and health research that are worthy of people’s trust.