The language barrier and gaps in health literacy serve as a source for major health disparities, preventing many people from receiving the healthcare they need. Let's change that.
Established in 2023, The Health Fluency Project aims to provide English language learners and their communities with the knowledge and resources to access and effectively navigate the healthcare system. Through educational workshops, open-access written content, and partnerships with community-oriented health organizations, we seek to empower individuals to become fluent in the language of healthcare, empowering them to effectively communicate with their healthcare providers, now and into the future.
What is
Health Literacy?
Personal
Health Literacy
The degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
To address personal health literacy, we provide non-native English-speaking communities with resources to help individuals:
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Access the healthcare they need
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Communicate effectively with their providers
To meet these goals, we partner with community-oriented health organizations, provide educational workshops, and create written information designed for English language learners.
Our Approach
Organizational
Health Literacy
To address organizational health literacy, we advocate for health policies that address language barriers to health care.
The degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
Our Approach
We have endorsed Massachusetts Bill H.3084 An Act Relating to Language Access and Inclusion. This bill would require stronger efforts to reduce language barriers to state services, including MassHealth, which is the state’s program that includes Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance program.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2024
The language barrier to health
A language barrier impedes health literacy as patients are unable to effectively communicate their needs to their providers. Furthermore, immigrants may have a more difficult time adjusting to an already complex U.S healthcare system, creating major health disparities. Many studies have shown that language barriers and low health literacy have resulted in more misdiagnoses, medication errors, ER visits, and deaths. This can be entirely prevented.
Our country is a home for individuals and communities of all ethnicities and nationalities. It is essential for everyone, regardless of language spoken, to receive the high-quality care they need.