Health Literacy for All

This work was completed as part of the consumer-led Health Literacy for All project that ran from June 2011 to June 2014. This project was an initiative of the Health Care Consumers Association (HCCA) of the ACT and was funded by a Health Promotion grant from the ACT Government.

HCCA has more than thirty years of experience in increasing consumer access to information about the health system. With the increasing complexity of our health system, it has become even more important for consumers to have access to opportunities to develop their knowledge of the health system. It is also important that these opportunities are ‘consumer-led’, that is, that they provide access to information that consumers themselves have said they need to know.

The Health Literacy for All project was designed around a community development model. The program particularly sought to provide assistance to disadvantaged and marginalised health consumers. It sought to promote consumer participation in the health system by providing opportunities for consumers to improve their knowledge of support, community and health services. It also sought to increase consumers’ ability to advocate for themselves and family in health contexts. This involved helping consumers to identify their own needs so that they would be able to interact more effectively with health professionals.

The topics for the modules are based on consumer requests, and the content of the modules was developed in consultation with consumers who participated in health literacy workshops. More than 250 consumers and 170 health care professionals participated in 40 workshops over a three year period. 

In the coming weeks the material we developed and use in our community information sessions will be uploaded to the HCCA website.