Health Literacy

Health literacy is catalyst that strengthens the individuals’ ability to select the right information and take proper decision over their health thereby enabling them to control over their health. For effective health literacy, delivering quality information to the public on healthcare and make public to comprehend the information is very much essential. In Manipur, high quality medical care that is very expensive and also in need of good transportations, can be accessed by only a few rich people as majority of the people in Manipur belongs to middle class and low income class. In addition, Manipur is also an extremely bordered region in which facilities of transportations and communication are still poor. Here, Print media especially newspapers,

In 1974, the word health literacy was coined and defined it as “health education meeting minimal standards for all school grade levels” (Ratzan, 2001). Since then, different organizations, institutions and government agencies explained the term health literacy in multiples definitions. The basic idea in common is that health literacy involves the need for people to comprehend information that help them to maintain good health. Health literacy is the cognitive and social skills that determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, to understand, and to use information in ways that promote and maintain good health. Health literacy implies achievement of a level of knowledge, personal skills, and confidence to take action to improve personal and community health by changing personal lifestyles and living conditions. Good health is the primary root of human happiness and well being. Health literacy is a tool for empowering people to take control of their health by helping them properly uses information, leading to personal and social benefit and thereby enabling community action and the building of social capital. It is a means to social and human development. Because it improves people’s access to health information and their capacity to use

Information is a very valuable service that can changes mind and behavior of the individuals thereby bringing change to the society society. Information is delivered to public through various medium of which newspapers is popular and common one. Newspapers have the capacity to motivate the readers. Newspapers particularly technological backward region play the role of bridge that connect the individual and society. The significance of newspapers is defined by Cheyney (1992) in such as clear way that they are the textbooks that provide up to date information on local, state, national and world affairs, the most current analysis and criticism on executive and legislative decision making, the latest in music, theatre, television, fine arts and even column and comics to make readers laugh. Hence, newspapers can be used as effective tools to deliver quality health care information to the people thereby increasing health literary among the