An Examination of Environmental Health Literacy: Capacities, Structures, and Engagement

The links between the physical environment in which individuals live and their effects on health have been well established. In spite of this, the ability of every person to access relevant information regarding the relationship between the two is not the same. Environmental health literacy concerns the ability of individuals to find, understand, and act upon information which concerns the link between the environment and overall health. Although proficient environmental health literacy skills are crucial in understanding the relationship between the environment and health outcomes, as well as crucial in our abilities to consciously change our behaviors and make efforts to change our environment, there are many factors which can affect individuals’ environmental health literacy. These factors can include individual-level, socioeconomic aspects such as race, ethnicity, education, and income, as well as broader, systemic factors, such as relationships between communities and organizations, as well as public policy. Another critical aspect of understanding environmental health literacy is assessing how communities are engaged and how environmental health information is disseminated to varied groups and communities. That is, how groups’ strengths are used to the advantage of disseminators, how their needs are listened to and addressed, and how relationships are built and maintained to create fairer and more inclusive communities. For this research, a literature search was conducted to assess the factors which impact EHL, how systemic biases and structural racism continue to shape the issue of different levels of EHL and impair health outcomes today, and how engagement strategies have been employed in order to improve EHL among different communities.