The Health Fluency Project

About the project

Healthcare is
a right.

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.

Get to know our mission

01 / Our purpose

Our Mission

Community-driven.
Since 2023.

Aditya Tummala and Beier Nelson presenting The Health Fluency Project beside a slide introducing its student-led, community-centric approach.
Our mission, in action.Aditya Tummala and Beier Nelson sharing the work of The Health Fluency Project.

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.

02 / Understanding health

What is Health Literacy?

For individuals

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.

For organizations

Organizational
Health Literacy

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.

03 / Why it matters

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.

Let's change that.

Explore our resources