During Health Literacy Month, the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) is raising awareness about the importance of making health information easy to understand and the health care system easier to navigate. Our Moving Health Literacy Together (MHLT) project is positioned to help achieve that goal. Over the past nine months, MSMS, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ Social Determinants of Health team, developed a competency-based four-part education series designed to equip physicians, community health workers (CHWs), nurses, and all other health care team members with a comprehensive understanding of health literacy and its critical role in improving health outcomes. The curriculum was created under the direction of Ijeoma Nnodim Opara, MD, FAAP, FAIM.

All four modules are now available on-demand for free. Module 1 covers the importance of health literacy in addressing health disparities, the social and cultural factors that influence it, and how professionals can advance health literacy within their communities. Module 2 explores health literacy’s impact on health outcomes as a social determinant of health. Module 3 covers effective strategies for screening clients/patients for health literacy, engaging in meaningful discussions about it, and integrating culturally appropriate, literacy-friendly health education strategies into practice. Module 4 highlights the essential role of CHWs in this work as integral members of the healthcare team, as well as identifying key resources for health teams and clients/patients.

Another key component of the MHLT project was the creation of an online toolkit offering resources to help community-based organizations, CHWs, physicians and other health care professionals and their staff access tools to benefit their clients/patients.