Back to Basics: Why Basic Research Is Needed to Create Effective Health Literacy Interventions

Abstract

Limited health literacy is increasingly recognized as a public health problem. Growing recognition of the problem—and the need for solutions—creates an imperative for the field of health literacy research to identify effective interventions. The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy (U.S. DHHS, 2010) recommends increased basic research in health literacy. This paper elaborates on this call by explicating what is meant by basic research and describing several of the ways in which basic research will benefit the field of health literacy research and, particularly, progress toward designing successful interventions.

Acknowledgments

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the National Institutes of Health or the Centers for Disease Control.

Notes

This article is not subject to U.S. copyright law.