odphp.health.gov Blog

ODPHP plays a crucial role in keeping the nation healthy. Stay up to date on our work by checking out our blog posts, news and announcements, and upcoming events.

Staying Active While Social Distancing: Questions and Answers

Why is it important for me to be active?Physical activity can provide immediate benefits. Physical activity can help to boost your mood, reduce stress, improve sleep, and sharpen your focus — benefits that can be especially important during stressful times. Physical activity can also help you live a longer, healthier life by reducing the risk of many common chronic diseases, like type 2 diabetes and some cancers...

Achieving Value in Health Care Through Health Literacy

By Cindy Brach, MPP, Senior Health Care Researcher, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and Bernard Rosof, MD, MACP, Professor of Medicine, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/NorthwellThe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed a roadmap to drive the health care system to deliver better value...

HHS Leaders Highlight the Importance of Health Literacy

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is fortunate to have an active health literacy workgroup that represents over a dozen agencies. Its mission is to advance health literacy across our department. HHS currently defines health literacy as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information needed to make appropriate health decisions...

University of Maryland’s RecWell Customizes Move Your Way for College Students

Image of a student walking into the recreation center.

The mission of University Recreation and Wellness (RecWell) at the University of Maryland is to inspire students to be active and live well. And when RecWell employees learned about Move Your Way — ODPHP’s campaign to promote the second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans — they were struck by how well it aligned with their own efforts and messaging...