What is the Minister doing to promote health literacy in Wales?
I have been clear that health literacy is an important component of empowering individuals to take more control of their own health and wellbeing.
Action is embedded across government, where our partners in the Welsh Value in Health Centre are focused on patient education and information to support health literacy as part of their work on person-centred care. We can also see traditional examples of work to improve health literacy, from campaigns to support healthy choices, like our Healthy Weight Healthy You campaign run by Public Health Wales, through our campaigns to increase uptake of vaccine and screening services.
However, empowering citizens in decisions about their own health goes beyond just talking about lifestyle choices like quitting smoking, drinking less alcohol or being more physically active. That’s why we are proud as a government that the new curriculum for Wales focuses on health and wellbeing as one of the core Areas of Learning Experience. This is an excellent opportunity to ensure that we support our young people to grow up to be citizens who understand how and why their physical and mental health are important, and what they can do to make the right choices for them to live happy and healthy lives.