Horowitz Center for Health Literacy

The Center provides research, education, and service to improve health literacy at the individual, family, community, organization, and society levels. We aim to advance health literacy in Maryland and nationwide. 

Four resources ground our work: Healthy People 2030 health literacy definitions, Federal Plain Language Guidelines, CDC's Clear Communication Index, and Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards.

The Center was endowed and honors the legacy of Dr. Herschel S. Horowitz, a prominent scientist, educator, and public health advocate.

Upcoming Events

December 2, 2024 @ 10am ET | Webinar: Health Literacy Insights for Strengthening Access, Services, and Care

Speaker: Dr. Rima Rudd, Senior Lecturer Emerita, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

This webinar focuses on how we can increase people’s access to health information, services and care through attention to critical characteristics of our health organizations and systems. These include health professionals’ communication skills and practices, the quality of health information, the ease/difficulty of health activities and tasks, and characteristics of our health organizations and systems that impede or facilitate access. Dr. Rudd will provide an overview of an expanded concept of health literacy and discuss various tools that can help us assess our work and services to support increased access and health equity. Register here! 

What's New 

2025-2028 Doctoral Research Assistantship 

Applicants to UMD doctoral programs in public health, communication, information studies, or journalism for Fall 2025 are eligible to apply for a doctoral assistantship. We will consider and aim to select one accepted doctoral student with a strong commitment to health communication and health literacy scholarship. Our student page has more information. 

Director Cynthia Baur Talks about the Hub on the Health Literacy Out Loud Podcast

Listen as Dr. Baur and Helen Osborne discuss the Maryland Consumer Health Information Hub and why policy initiatives are so important to advance health literacy.  Putting Health Literacy Policy into Practice: How the Maryland Consumer Health Information Hub is Making This Happen (HLOL #251)

BCH Student Tatum Cox Recognized for Health Literacy Capstone Project

Tatum Cox, MPH '24, received the Meritorious MPH Capstone Project Award from the Department of Behavioral and Community Health for her capstone project on health literacy barriers for pregnant Latina women and opportunities to improve services. The project title is Organizational Health Literacy Assessment of Maternal Health Services for Pregnant Latina Women in the Maryland Mid Shore. Tatum researched prenatal services available to Latina women and recommended changes to remove health literacy barriers. Congratulations Tatum! 

Why Health Literacy is a Core Educational Competency

Chancellor Jay Perman, MD

Dr. Perman recorded the video below to open the first-ever meeting of University System of Maryland (USM) campus representatives to discuss health literacy educational activities. He explained his own experience seeing health literacy issues up close as a practicing pediatric gastroenterologist and the significance of health literacy as part of a USM education. The USM group intends to meet twice a year to share information and best practices in health literacy education and student opportunities.

Horowitz Center COVID-19 communications work 

The Center provides health literacy and risk communication expertise on COVID-19. We use mass and social media, public presentations, community outreach, and expert consults.

Featured Projects