Table of Contents

Section A: What is Health Literacy? (Full section PDF)

1. Definitions of Health Literacy
2. A Definition of Health Literacy for Adult Education
3. Chart: Health Literacy from Various Stakeholders' Perspectives
4. Virginia Glossary of Health Care Terms
5. General Glossary of Health Care Terms
6. Health Insurance Glossary

Section B: Why Is Health Literacy So Important? (Full section PDF)

1. Facts and Figures: United States
2. Facts and Figures: Virginia
3. Origins of the Health Literacy Issue
4. Current Efforts to Reduce Low Health Literacy
   • Call for Collaboration
   • Medical Efforts
5. Developments in Health Literacy Assessment
   • Literacy Tests in the Doctor's Office
   • The 2003 NAAL
6. Significance for the ABE Population in General
7. Chart: Why Should We Teach Health Topics in Adult Education Classes?
8. Examples of Teaching Opportunities by Skill Area for Health Education Instruction
   • Reading English
   • Speaking and Listening in English
   • Writing in English
   • Numeracy and Mathematics
   • Critical Thinking
   • Science
   • Social Studies
   • Computer Literacy
9. Significance for African American Learners
10. Significance for Limited English Proficient Learners
11. Significance for Native American Learners
12. Significance for Elderly Learners
13. Significance for Family Literacy Learners
14. A Few Words About the Sandwich Generation
15. Significance for Incarcerated Learners
16. Significance for Migrant Workers

Section C: What Resources Are Available? (Full section PDF)

1. Virginia Health Care Resources for Uninsured and Underinsured Low Income Learners
2. Chart: Advice for Learners on Paying Huge Hospital Bills
3. Sample Letter to Request Medical Bill Reduction or Payment Plan
4. Mental Health Resources for Low Income Learners
5. Selecting Online and Print Health Resources: Some Words of Caution
   • Using Websites
   • Language and Literacy Level Appropriateness
   • Pictures
   • Cultural Sensitivity
   • Relevance
6. Online Resources for Teaching Health to Adults
7. Print Resources for Teaching Health to Adults
8. Potential Collaboration and Funding Sources
9. Potential Community Partners for Health Literacy Efforts

Section D: Teaching Health Topics (Full section PDF)

1. Approaching Health Curriculum Design
2. Curriculum Content Ideas
3. Teaching Approaches
4. Instructional Supports: Resources and Activities for Increasing Impact of Health Instruction
5. Curriculum Resources

Section E: Addressing Teachers' Concerns About Teaching Health (Full section PDF)

1. Questions and Answers on Teachers' Concerns
2. Addressing Trauma in Adult Education
   • ERIC Digest: Trauma and Adult Learning
   • ERIC Digest: Trauma and the Adult English Language Learner

Appendices (Full section PDF)

1. Affordable Health Care Providers in Virginia
2. Affordable Legal Services in Virginia
3. Reproducible Teaching Materials and Lesson Plans: Picture Stories for Adult Health Literacy
4. Publishers' and Distributors' Information
5. K-12 Standards for Health Education
6. GED as Project Sample Lesson Plans

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