Literacy and the School-Health Connection: An Informal Conversation With Robert LeVine and Ana Langer

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Ana Langer, Director of the Women and Health Initiative and the Maternal Health Task Force, and Robert LeVine, Roy Edward Larsen Professor of Education and Human Development, discussed the connection between literacy and health in a round table discussion at Harvard last month.

“Literacy’s impact on health reflects the challenges of navigating complex medical systems and language, understand health professionals, and interpret media messages about health, including those they hear on the radio or television. Clinics in poor communities may still be scary places for women, said LeVine, but literacy skills may lower a woman’s anxiety level about seeking medical care, and help her to overcome systemic barriers.”

To learn more about how literacy influences women and children’s health, read Harvard’s full article here.