Health Literacy and Cultural Competency

What is Health Literacy?

“Health literacy the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

There can be two types of health literacy (personal and organizational):

“Personal health literacy is 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.”
Healthy People 2030

“Organizational health literacy is 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.”
Healthy People 2030

A 2003 U.S. Department of Education National Assessment of Adult Literacy survey found that 36% of adult participants had basic or below basic health literacy skills. People with low health literacy use more healthcare services, are at greater risk for hospitalization and incur more healthcare costs. Vulnerable populations include older adults, low-income populations, minority populations and immigrant populations.

Why is Health Literacy Important to Food Allergy Management, Prevention and Care?

• Research has shown that lower health literacy for caregivers can be associated with lower ability to use an autoinjector, increased reactions to food, and knowledge gaps about allergic reactions (Egan et al., 2019)

Ways to incorporate health literacy into practice:

In summary, health literacy is important because it helps families understand health information and make informed decisions about medical care. 

• Clinicians should distribute patient education materials written in clear, plain language to aid with knowledge dissemination. 
• Ask questions to make sure patients understand the condition, the needed medications, and how to use medications such as epinephrine. (Weiss et al., 2003)

Beyond language, cultural and social contexts influence how people communicate, understand, and respond to health information; they play an important role in health literacy. Ethnic backgrounds, belief systems, communication styles, and social communities shape an individual’s health literacy.

What is Cultural Competence?

Cultural competence in healthcare refers to practices and behaviors that allow all patients to receive high-quality, effective care, irrespective of cultural background, language proficiency, socioeconomic status and other factors that may influence a patient’s characteristics. Both patients and providers alike bring their own cultural affiliations into healthcare.

Why is Cultural Competence Important to Food Allergy Management, Prevention and Care?

• Food is a social construct; it is deeply rooted in our culture, traditions, social relationships and interactions. Thinking about food from a cultural perspective is important in the context of food allergies and people from cultures around the world prepare and consume the same food in many different ways.
  • For example, dry-roasted peanuts are commonly consumed in North American diets and are more allergenic than boiled peanuts, which are customarily used in Asian cuisine. In Israel, a puffed peanut treat is one of the first finger foods given to babies.  
  • In a recent study, utilizing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

(NHANES) survey within the US showed 50%-100% higher peanut consumption among non-Hispanic White participants compared with non-Hispanic Black and Mexican American participants. (Hosein et al., 2025)

Ways to Implement Cultural Competency in Practice

In summary, cultural competency matters because demonstrating competence can improve patient outcomes. 

• Use an interpreter and offer educational materials in the patient’s native language if available and discuss diagnosis and treatments in the context of cultural norms and values (Saha et al., 2010)
• Shared Decision-Making and Cultural Competency can be woven together with compassionate communication to connect with families by adapting care plans to cultural contexts and providing culturally sensitive materials (Abrams, 2026)
• Recognize and address personal biases to provide equitable, respectful, and patient-centered care.

Putting Health & Cultural Competency Into Practice with FAMP-IT

FAMP-IT.org 

• Our after-visit summaries use content from our family-facing platform, FAMP-IT Family, with clear explanations that make information easy to navigate and understand, without pulling food allergy information from scratch. 

Launched in early 2026, FAMP-IT Family is the family-facing arm of FAMP-IT, providing trusted, accessible resources to help families navigate the early years of their baby’s food allergy journey with greater confidence and ease.

FAMPITFAMILY.org

• Content is designed for approximately a 5th- to 8th-grade reading level, so you can feel confident that patients, families, and caregivers receive easy-to-understand information they can use at home.
• Our website is available in English and Spanish, helping families access food allergy information in the language they are most comfortable using.
  • For example, “maní” and “cacahuate” both refer to peanuts in different Spanish-speaking countries, and including both in our materials accounts for regional differences to ensure families receive information using familiar words. 
• Our early introduction handouts on early allergen introduction are available in:
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Russian
• Our food allergy management and emergency preparedness handouts are available in:
  • English
  • Spanish
• Native speakers from the FAMP-IT team review handouts to ensure translations are accurate, natural, and clear for families. This allows practical guidance accessible to families from many different language backgrounds.

Examples of foods for early introduction are suggestions and may not fit every family’s culture or eating habits. Help families find a culturally appropriate food that works for the family and can be prepared in a baby-appropriate form. A side benefit of introducing foods in culturally competent ways: families do not have to make separate meals for their baby!

References