October is Health Literacy Month

Improved health and wellness have taken the forms of technological and medical developments and discoveries, but without greater health literacy these advances will not benefit many of the people who struggle most to maintain their health. Health literacy is how well someone understands basic information about their health. Being able to take in and understand health information can better a person’s ability to take care of themselves and keep their health problems in check. With health literacy, the average person can be empowered to make decisions to keep their body and mind healthy. Health literacy can also give a person the resources to navigate their health care system with more confidence. Opportunities to improve health literacy can come in several forms. From taking health management classes to checking out resources available at your local library. The Richland County library has a wealth of reading and video materials about personal health available to the public including periodicals like AARP and Eating Well. Don’t have time to stop by the library? With your library card you can access the shared catalog, Montana Library2Go, which features hundreds of books about different health and wellness topics from heart healthy cookbooks to stress maintenance and parenting books. The library website also features other resources like the Health and Wellness Resource Center, Power Search, Research in Context, and Opposing Viewpoints which is a neutral resource that gives well-rounded background information and many different perspectives on complicated issues like obesity. Our online resources are available on http://www.richland.org/spl through the sidebar. A health literacy board with information on other local resources will be available at the library for the next month. Come check it out to find specific materials on various health topics and local opportunities for education and health management.