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My doctoral degree involved the development and evaluation of a health literacy program for adult learners in Australia McCaffery et al. It is unsurprising, then, that one of the first health literacy researchers I came to know of was Dr. Rima Rudd. It was through her work that I began reading about adult education institutions as a potential vehicle to build health literacy of those most in need and exploring the value of health-education partnerships Rudd, , Through this early reading, I was quickly linked through Dr.
Rudd to the philosophies of Freire and others where I delved into problem-posing approaches to education and came to learn that adult education is rooted in a historical context concerned with capacity building, empowerment, and social change McCaffery et al.
Quickly, my understanding of literacy and health literacy expanded well beyond a set of functional skills to a means to enable people to overcome disadvantage, control their lives, and become autonomous, participating citizens Fajardo, Adult education institutions were positioned as a unique space to enable this.
Since I obtained my doctoral degree, my work in health literacy has moved out of the adult education sphere and more toward health systems, where I have adapted the original adult education program for different community and clinical populations, including adults living with chronic kidney disease Muscat, Lambert, et al.
