Advancing Health Literacy of Patients and Professionals

Brussels, 17 October 2025

1. Introduction

This report summarises the co-creative outcomes from the EFNA health literacy strategy workshop for patients and professionals facilitated by Dr Kristine Sørensen, Founder of the Global Health Literacy Academy. The workshop involved representatives of EFNA’s member organisations, researchers and industry partners. 22 participants, from 9 European countries, actively engaged throughout the session to analyse their current context and collaboratively shape their own organisational health literacy strategies. Using a structured strategy design approach, they applied PESTEL and SWOT tools, developed empathy maps of people with varying health literacy capacities, co-created vision and mission statements, and used the Health Literacy by Design blueprint to outline strategic priorities.

A SWOT analysis evaluates an organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses, along with external opportunities and threats, while a PESTEL analysis examines external macro-environmental factors such as political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental that can impact an organization. These frameworks are often used together, with PESTEL informing the external components of SWOT.

An empathy map is a visual tool used in design thinking, user research, and organizational strategy to better understand the feelings, thoughts, and behaviours of a target group such as customers, patients, or employees. It helps teams build empathy by stepping into the perspective of the people they serve and synthesizing qualitative insights into a shared understanding.

Vision and mission statements, together with organizational values and priorities, form the foundation of an organization’s strategic identity. The statements define the organization’s direction, purpose, and behavioural standards, aligning all members around shared goals and principles.

Lastly, the Health Literacy by Design Blueprint, developed by Kristine Sørensen, is a strategic framework and learning approach that guides organizations in systematically building and implementing health literacy into their structures, services, and leadership practices.

2. PESTEL Analysis

EFNA member organisations collaboratively conducted a PESTEL analysis to understand external forces influencing their ability to advance organisational health literacy. They identified political momentum around patient empowerment and EU health policy frameworks; economic disparities affecting equitable access to care and digital tools; shifting social expectations for co-created care and lived-experience leadership; accelerating technological innovation including AI and personalised communication; increasing environmental relevance of sustainable and resilient health systems; and evolving legal requirements on data governance, patient rights, and accessibility. These insights formed the foundation for strategic prioritisation.

3. SWOT Analysis

Participants then assessed their internal organizational health literacy capacity through a SWOT analysis. Strengths included strong legitimacy as neurological patient organisations and trusted networks with researchers, health advocates, and policymakers. Weaknesses included fragmented communication approaches and limited internal health literacy competencies. Opportunities emerged in collaborating with health systems on co-designed services and leveraging digital channels for personalised patient engagement. Threats were identified in widening health inequalities, information overload, and misalignment with health system digital transformation efforts.

4. Empathy Map

Empathy maps were constructed for two personas:

• Persona A: Health Literate Individual: Participants mapped a highly health literate person who actively seeks information, asks informed questions, navigates systems with confidence, and benefits from clear, co-produced communication.
• Persona B: Health Literacy–Challenged Individual: They contrasted this with a person facing neurological symptoms, cognitive fatigue, limited digital confidence, high anxiety, and fragmented understanding, easily overwhelmed by complex systems and inaccessible communication.

The discussion revealed how important it is to balance efforts between universal precautions taking everybody into account with tailored approaches matching individual needs.

5. Vision and Mission Statements

Participants co-created draft vision and mission statements positioning their organizations as a catalyst for health-literate neurological care systems. The visions expressed by various participants emphasised, for instance, equitable understanding, navigation, and co-decision-making for all people affected by neurological conditions. The missions focused on building individual and organisational health literacy capacity, empowering neurology communities, and shaping responsive systems.

6. Health Literacy by Design Blueprint

Using Kristine Sørensen’s Health Literacy by Design Blueprint, the participants translated their gained insights into strategic actions. They defined target users and use cases, mapped critical communication touchpoints, identified barriers, and outlined principles and priorities such as plain language, navigation simplicity, co-production, and digital inclusion.

7. Key Recommendations

Participants prioritised actions including integrating health literacy into strategic plans, investing in organisational health literacy competencies, co-creating communication with neurological patients, and advocating for health-literate policies within national and EU health systems.

8. Conclusion

The workshop enabled EFNA members to diagnose their organisational status, co-design strategy components, and align around a shared commitment to health literacy transformation.

The Stronger Connected Workshop was kindly supported by: