At a glance
Training in health literacy, plain language, and culture and communication is essential for anyone working in health information and services. Whether you are new to these topics, need a refresher, or want to train your entire staff, the following courses are a good place to start.
Start your training here
Communicating Science Clearly presents ways scientists, communicators, and policy staff can collaborate to tailor their messages to the intended audience. Like all our health literacy courses, it includes interactive exercises.
Log into CDC TRAIN or create a free account if you don't have one. Once logged in, navigate to the course page.
CDC offers other online health literacy courses for health professionals.
- Health Literacy for Public Health Professionals (free continuing education)
- Health Literacy for Public Health Professionals (certificate of completion only)
- Fundamentals of Communicating Health Risks
Additional training resources
Good Questions for Good Health Training: A consumer and patient communication skill-building module. It encourages question-asking and provides strategies for formulating and asking questions before, during, and after medical appointments. The Toolkit [1.7 MB] includes a presentation, [727 KB] presentation notes, a skill-building activity, a take-home handout, and an evaluation form.
Listen to Dr. Rima Rudd, health literacy expert, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, explain health literacy.
For more trainings on health literacy, plain language, cultural competency, mental health literacy, consumer and patient skill building, and shared decision making, please visit our Non-CDC Training page.