Making informed healthcare choices for Victoria’s multicultural communities was showcased in a report released by the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV).
Minister for Ageing David Davis launched the report entitled An Investment Not an Expense: Enhancing Health Literacy in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities and said the government was committed to empowering people to “maintain their health, and to make informed choices about the most appropriate healthcare for their needs”.
He said an important component of this is improving health literacy for the community.
“More than simply ensuring that people can read and understand basic health information, health literacy is about building competence in decision-making, and the ability to critically analyse and use health information.”
In 2006, 59 per cent of Australian adults were identified as having a low health literacy level.
