Aim and objectives:
The aim of the strategy is to increase the health literacy of the population in Norway. It is targeted at health and social professionals, decision-makers, and managers as well as patient organisations and other relevant stakeholders. It pursues a cross-sectoral approach, in particular the involvement of the health and educational sector.
Method:
The methods include:
- promoting the concept of health literacy in the Norwegian context;
- setting- up targeted efforts to improve population health literacy;
- highlighting the importance of health literacy among health providers for the patients' engagement in services;
- developing health and social services with respect to the health literacy responsiveness of staff;
- identifying the state of the art of health literacy in the population;
- describing different initiatives that can enhance health literacy in various population groups and showcasing examples of ongoing activities that support health literacy without being labelled as such;
- conducting health literacy research;
- describing how health authorities will work to improve health literacy in populations and sub-groups of the population.
Outcome:
Health authorities are required to facilitate patients journeys that engage patients in shared and informed decisions, such as asking "what is important to you?". Health literacy is regarded as a precondition for realising patient-centered health services.
Added value:
The strategy on health literacy supports the vision of a patient-centered health system. It implies that patients and users have the knowledge, competencies and opportunities to manage health in the best possible way.
Strategy to improve health literacy in the population 2019-2023 - Norway
