Join patients advocates, healthcare specialists, and other experts for an engaging discussion around the status of health literacy, with a special focus on literacy related to liver health. Health literacy has gained considerable attention globally in recent years. Health literacy is the extent to which individuals are able to obtain, understand, process and use basic health information and services that they need to make appropriate and well-informed health decisions. Research shows that low health literacy level is associated with higher hospitalisation rates and longer hospitalisation periods, among other challenges.

Even in countries with a universal healthcare system, where citizens are eligible to received free medical treatment, health literacy levels affect healthcare use in the general population. For instance, in the case of liver health, among those patients who have undergone liver transplant, limited health literacy has been associated with more hospitalisations and poorer outcomes.

Europe faces a health literacy crisis as health systems are becoming more and more difficult to navigate, even for more educated people. Policy actions are needed at all levels and it is crucial to have patients views and needs guiding the change. EASL Patients Forum 2021 will aim to help address this issue by providing a focussed perspective on liver health.

We warmly invite all patients, patients’ representatives, nurses and all interested parties in the topic of health literacy and liver disease to join and contribute to the discussion. This includes civil society organisations, representatives from patients organisations, policymakers, medical associations and other actors involved in those topics in Europe and beyond.