According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL), more than 1 in 3 Americans, or over 77 million people, are considered to have inadequate health literacy, which means that they have difficulty with common health tasks like reading a prescription drug label or making a wise health care decision.
It is estimated that low health literacy costs the United States $106 billion to $238 billion annually and accounts for 7 to 17 percent of all personal health care expenditures.
Increasing employee health care literacy starts with a good communication strategy. The most successful campaigns involve communication throughout the year, not just during open enrollment.
Utilize a variety of methods to increase readership, like flyers, emails and videos. Consider developing an FAQ so you can streamline the information for next year. Most importantly, benchmark employee satisfaction and knowledge through surveys and use the feedback to revise your campaign accordingly.
AUI has resources to help you improve your employees’ health literacy. To learn more about how we can help you, please contact us!
