Health and Digital Literacy Survey 2025/26

Executive summary

The 2025/6 survey is the fourth periodic survey carried out by PIF on action by health organisations on health and digital literacy.

Health literacy

The number of organisations with a health literacy policy in place stood at 26% with 15% in development – 41% in total compared to a total of 33% in 2023. This is significant progress since 2019 when the number of organisations with a policy stood at just 13%. However, progress is slower in the NHS where the total stands at 30% compared to 47% in the charity sector.

Digital equalities

The number of organisations assessing equalities impact of digital services was 68%, down from 80% in 2022/3.

80% of charities considered the equalities impact of digital services compared to 48% of NHS organisations.This is very disappointing given the emphasis in the NHS plan on a ‘digital by default NHS.’

Health policy

Health inequalities and the shift to a digital first NHS were seen as the policy areas most impacted by low health and digital literacy.

Confidence in a digital-first NHS as a force for inclusion is low, with only 1 in 3 expressing confidence. Confidence was higher among charities – 35% compared to 22% of respondents from NHS organisations.

The top rated success factors for a digital first NHS were:

• Improving media literacy and digital skills.
• Providing integrated digital services for users across health and social care.
• Signposting trusted information.
• The majority of respondents in both sectors agreed that the ability to access digital health information and services should be considered a ‘health vital sign’ – NHS 74%, charity 60%.

The impact of standards

The results also demonstrate the positive impacts of standards. PIF TICK certified organisations performed well across sectors, with information production processes designed to meet people’s health literacy needs and promote digital inclusion.

The report makes a series of recommendations to improve health literacy and digital inclusion.

The full report is available to members only.

AstraZeneca has provided sponsorship towards this report and has had no involvement in its creation or organisation.