It encompasses 9 standards, 22 sub-standards, and 160 indicators, as well as a toolbox containing best-practice actions ( Pelikan, 2017 Pelikan & Dietscher, 2015). In 2015, Pelikan and Dietscher presented the Vienna concept of health-literate hospitals and health care organizations (V-HLO) based on the 10 attributes. In addition, the Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors has developed a toolkit for local health departments to assess their HL readiness ( Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, University of Maryland School of Public Health 2021). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has adapted these to a list of 10 attributes for health departments and similar organizations ( CDC, 2020).
The model´s attributes should be chosen, implemented, and customized depending on the respective organization´s priorities, and targeted at institutions like hospitals, primary care practices, pharmacies, or nursing homes ( Brach et al., 2012). It encompasses 10 attributes and has since become the foundation for a growing number of adaptations worldwide. Institute of Medicine ( Brach et al., 2012). The first conceptual model for health-literate health care organizations was developed by the U.S. In any given setting, the measurement of this level depends on the development of a setting-specific OHL concept.
For organizations to enhance their OHL, it is necessary to understand the relevant attributes and their current OHL level. 128) that help its users “to navigate, understand, and use information and services to take care of their health” ( Brach et al., 2012, p. For this study, OHL is understood as “the degree to which an organization implements policies, practices, and systems” ( Brega et al., 2019, p. No all-encompassing definition for OHL has been agreed upon ( Meggetto et al., 2018). Health care organizations need to make an effort to raise their organizational health literacy (OHL). In Germany, the foundation of the national Alliance for Health Literacy ( Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, 2017) in 2017 was followed by the development of the National Action Plan on Health Literacy in 2018 ( Schaeffer et al., 2018).Īll of these entities acknowledge that, in addition to improving individual HL, the systems in which people move have to change as well ( Rudd, 2015).
Moreover, the United Nations ( 2020) considers HL important for achieving targets related to sustainable development goals. HL empowers and drives equality to reach the goal of a healthy environment and life for all ( WHO, 2016). The World Health Organization's ( WHO, 2016) Shanghai Declaration on promoting health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes HL as a critical health determinant. This ability is called health literacy (HL) ( Sørensen et al., 2012). To make healthy decisions, citizens need to be able to access, understand, assess, and apply the information and services provided.
These local PHDs provide information and a great number of services for the public in the area they serve. However, all of them share a number of responsibilities, such as monitoring, protecting, and promoting the health of the population as well as identifying and tackling public health hazards ( Plümer, 2018). They vary in size, structure, and tasks, because in Germany it is the federal states that are responsible for health policy ( Busse & Blümel, 2014). Instead, approximately 400 local public health departments (PHDs, Gesundheitsämter) in urban and rural district administrations are at the heart of the public health service ( Plümer, 2018). In Germany, there is no national public health agency comparable to the National Health Service in the United Kingdom or other countries. It consists of health authorities at the national, federal state, and municipal levels. Public health service (Öffentlicher Gesundheitsdienst) is the third pillar of the German health care system, together with inpatient and outpatient (ambulant) care provided by hospitals and local physicians, respectively.