Religions

• Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance provides descriptions and statistics of the major religions and includes news related to religion http://www.religioustolerance.org/index.htm#new

Culture and Countries

• The World Culture Encyclopedia website provides the pertinent characteristics of each country http://www.everyculture.com/
• UNICEF provides up to date country statistics with a focus on children: https://www.unicef.org/statistics/index_countrystats.html
• NationMaster.com is a massive central data source, compiling statistics from many sources [such as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD ] providing a handy way to graphically compare nations http://www.nationmaster.com/

ESL websites

• ESLflow- Prepared resources for class work on health care education http://www.eslflow.com/humanbodylessonplans.html
• Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) (2015). Language Learning for Health. Retrieved from http://olip-plio.ca/knowledge-base/toolkit
  The resource was designed and reviewed by a team of Ottawa Public Health and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board staff. The toolkit includes four priority health topics: physical activity, dental health, mental health, and healthy eating. Every topic includes lessons plans, each covering different language levels.

Literacy and Health

• Best Start: http://www.beststart.org/resources/other_languages/index.html
  Provides support to the service providers who implement health promotion programs for maternal, newborn and early child development. Many resource pamphlets and posters have been translated into several languages incl. Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Cree etc. Note: A fee is charged to order resources.

• Canadian Public Health Association: Examples of Health Literacy in Practice: https://www.cpha.ca/resources?topic=29
  This resource provides information on some of the approaches that can inform health literacy activities, programs and policies.
• CDC Health Literacy:  http://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy
  This CDC website provides information and tools to improve health literacy and public health. These resources are for all organizations that interact and communicate with people about health, including public health departments, healthcare providers and facilities, health plans, government agencies, non-profit/community and advocacy organizations, childcare and schools, the media, and health-related industries. Other CDC resources:
  • Health Literacy, Health Communication and e-Health: http://health.gov/communication/literacy/
    Provides an overview of health literacy, tools, reports/research and related resources.
  • Simply Put, A Guide for Creating Easy-to-Understand Materials: http://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/pdf/Simply_Put.pdf
    This Simply Put Guide teaches how to create easy-to-read materials using effective communication and design.
• Harvard School of Public Health, Health Literacy Website (2013) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthliteracy/
  The left side of the website provides links to an overview of health literacy with videos and presentations, research, policy reports, and detailed information and examples of preparing written material so it can be understood

• Public Health Agency of Canada: Health Literacy Resources: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cd-mc/hl-ls/index-eng.php#tabs-2
  Provides links to supporting documents, websites, and video