Understanding health literacy from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective.

Health literacy is critical to improving individual and public health. However, indigenous perceptions of health are largely absent from Western-derived measurements, contributing to disparities in health outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous populations. China is the country with the world's largest population and only officially introduced the term "health literacy" in 2008. Current measures of health literacy in China are primarily based on Western-derived constructs, which have been shown to have poor comparability to the unique dual medical system in China. Given its significant importance to health management globally, understanding health perceptions from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective is essential. This review explores the concept and core elements of indigenous health literacy, evaluates the existing definitions and measurement tools as applied to the concept, and proposes a new model of traditional Chinese medicine health literacy.