Health literacy refers to the abilities that an individual has to acquire, understand and deal with basic health information, and use it to change his or her behaviors to maintain and improve health. Health improvement is the effective means to improve health literacy. The survey shows that the general level of residents＇ health litera- cy in Changshu City is higher than the national and Jiang Su provincial average levels. But imbalance exists be- tween all indexes, between the city and the rural area, between people of different educational levels, and with dif- ferent age groups and occupations. In light of behaviorist method, the focused work of health improvement is to change unhealthy lifestyles and behaviors of some residents. Meanwhile, the emphasis should be placed on the health improvement of rural residents and the disadvantaged groups to maintain health fairness consciously.%健康素养是指个人获取、理解和处理健康信息，并运用这些信息来改变自己的行为，以达到维护和促进健康的能力。健康促进是提高健康素养的有效手段。调查数据显示，常熟市居民健康素养水平总体高于全国和全省平均水平，但各项指标构成不平衡，城乡之间、不同文化程度之间、不同年龄组之间、不同职业之间健康素养呈现明显差异。基于健康素养差异的健康促进工作侧重点是：运用行为主义法改变居民不健康的生活方式和行为习惯，并将健康促进工作的重点放在农村和弱势群体上，自觉维护健康公平。
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