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Global Working Groups and Networks

GWG on Health Literacy

Overview

Background

Health literacy has been established and recognized as a social determinant of health; addressing health literacy is a mechanism for reducing health and social inequities. The 19th and 20th IUHPE World Conferences for Health Education and Promotion have increasingly included health literacy as a topic addressed in the scientific program. During these conferences, organizational meetings were also were held for participants to work together on the topic of health literacy.

During the 20th World Conference in Geneva, a Resolution was presented to the General Assembly, proposing that IUHPE address health literacy as a focus point in the strategic priorities and long term vision. A specific recommendation was included to establish a Global Working Group on Health Literacy (GWG-HL).

Health Literacy is relevant to achieving strategic priorities for IUHPE:

  • Social Determinants of health
  • Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control
  • Health Promotion Systems
  • Health Promotion in Sustainable Development

In addition, it is assumed that active involvement of the IUHPE in health literacy will attract new members that are already involved in health literacy, yet to date have not professionally identified with health promotion.

Mission

To initiate and support action, policy and research on health literacy, acknowledging the contribution of health literacy to reducing disparities in the promotion of health, wellbeing, and sustainable development, and to the pursuit of equity within and between countries, in the global context.

Aims

  • To facilitate the development of, and communicate, health literacy theory, policy and practice at global, international, national and local levels;
  • To enable shared learning between programmes, networks and with relevant professions and sectors, at international and national levels;
  • To ensure that health literacy, as a social determinant of health, is included in global and regional discussions on health promotion systems, reducing health disparities, promoting sustainable development and NCDs;
  • To strengthen the knowledge and evidence bases for measuring and assessing health literacy and applying knowledge within the context of health promotion by promoting evaluation, learning and development;
  • To identify relevant stakeholders that can be engaged for collaborative action, research and policy, build synergies and lead where appropriate, working in partnership with other networks and organizations for promoting the issue of health literacy;
  • To work collaboratively with other GWGs in order to promote integrated and cross-cutting support and action;
  • To develop and implement a 3-year action plan reflecting all of the above.

Work plan 2026-2027 (work in progress, TBC)

Objectives, actions and timelines

The Global Working Group on Health Literacy at the Pre-conference meeting at IUHPE Rotorua Conference in New Zeland 2019
The Global Working Group on Health Literacy at the Pre-conference meeting at IUHPE Curitiba Conference in Brazil 2016
The Global Working Group on Health Literacy at the IUHPE Conference in Abu Dhabi, 2025

Membership

Composition

As a GWG, it is intended that the group's activity reflect the global nature of the IUHPE. As such, the group will strive to have representation from all regions of IUHPE.

Chairs

Gillian Rowlands, Elswick Family Practice for Elswick Family Health Ltd, Clinical Director Inner West Primary Care Network, and Emerita Professor of Primary Care, Newcastle University, United Kingdom
gill.rowlands@nhs.net

Members

Diane Levin-Zamir, founding member of the GWG-HL and former chair, former Director of the National Department of Health Education and Promotion of Clalit, Associated Professor of Public Health in the School of Public Health of Haifa University and lecturer in health promotion in the Schools of Public Health in and Tel Aviv University, Israel
Paola Ardiles, Past President of the Public Health Association of British Columbia; founder Bridge for Health; Lecturer, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Roy Batterham, Thailand
Deborah Begoray, Chair and Professor at Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Victoria, Canada
Janine Bröder, research associate and PhD candidate at the Faculty of Educational Science and the Centre for Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence (CPI), Bielefeld University, Germany
Stephan Van den Broucke, Member of IUHPE Executive Board , Professor of Public Health Psychology at the Psychological Sciences Research Institute and the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Peter Chang, medical doctor, professor, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan
Graham Krame, Annat Bank Practice, Executive Officer for Patient Participation with Royal College of General Practitioners, Scotland
Valérie Lemieux, public health practitioner at Direction régionale de santé publique in Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Angela YM Leung, Associate Professor of the School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU); Director of Centre for Gerontological Nursing, PolyU, Hong Kong
Don Nutbeam, Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney, and a Senior Advisor at the Sax Institute
Orkan Okan, Professor, Faculty of Educational Science and the Centre for Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence, Bielefeld University, Germany
Richard Osborne, Professor of Public Health; National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Research Fellow; Director of the Health Systems Improvement Unit, Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaboration Centre for Health Literacy, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia; Affiliate Professor of Health Literacy, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jürgen Pelikan*, member of the core groupe of GWG_HL, emeritus professor of sociology at the University of Vienna, Austria; Director of the WHO-CC Health Promotion in Hospitals and Health Care at the Austrian Public Health Institute (Gesundheit Österreich GmbH) in Vienna, Austria; Adjunct professor, Centre for Environment and Public Health, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. *has passed away in January 2023.
Andrew Pleasant*, founding member of the GWG-HL; Senior Advisor on Health Literacy Interventions, Research and Evaluation at Health Literacy Media, U.S. *passed away in 2022.
Joanne Protheroe, Professor of General Practice, Keele Medical School, U.K.
R.V. Rikard, Senior Research Associate in the Department of Media and Information, Michigan State University, U.S.
Irving Rootman, Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of Victoria, Canada
Luis Saboga Nunes, health sociologist, Professor at the National School of Public Health, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
Kristine Sørensen, founder of the Global Health Literacy Academy; advisor for international organizations such as the European Commission, the World Health Organization and McKinsey; Executive chair of Health Literacy Europe; President of the International Health Literacy Association. Netherlands
Stefania Velardo, Lecturer and Early Career Researcher, Australia
Jane Wills, Professor of Health Promotion at London South Bank University; Director of the Centre for Applied Research in Improvement and Innovation, U.K.

Chairs’ and members’ responsibilities

Chairperson

Members

In general, the group members will be expected to contribute to defining the IUHPE global strategy and priorities on health literacy. Towards this end, more specifically they will be asked to:

  • participate in electronic or conference call meetings on a regular basis;
  • stimulate collaborative ideas and action among various regions and sub-networks;
  • bring regional/sub-network input into the global discussions to ensure that all interests and specificities are taken into account.

Position statements

IUHPE Position Statement on Health Literacy: a practical vision for a health literate world
2018
1st Edition

Download in available languages :

EN
IUHPE Position statement on health literacy
A practical vision for a health literate world
2023
2nd Edition

Download in available languages :

EN