Health Promot J Austral. 2021;32(S1):3–4. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hpja | 3 © 2021 Australian Health Promotion Association Received: 3 December 2020 | Accepted: 3 December 2020 DOI: 10.1002/hpja.446 SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE Equity and health literacy: Using emerging evidence to inform the development of the National Preventive Health Strategy James A. Smith 1,2 | Kalinda Griffiths 1,3,4 | Rosie Nash 5 | Shandell Elmer 6 | Sarah Ireland 7 | Cassandra J. C. Wright 1,8,9 | Himanshu Gupta 1,2 1 Wellbeing and Preventable Chronic Diseases Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Australia 2 Freemasons Centre for Male Health and Wellbeing, Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Australia 3 Centre for Big Data Research, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 4 Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia 5 Public Health & Health Service Education, School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia 6 Centre for Global Health and Equity, School of Health Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia 7 Molly Wardaguga Research Centre, College of Nursing and Midwifery, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia 8 Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia 9 Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia Correspondence: James A. Smith, Wellbeing and Preventable Chronic Diseases Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Australia. Editor: James A. Smith The term “health literacy” is used widely in global health promotion contexts. 1,2 It is firmly embedded into Australian health research, policy and practice lexicon, although occasionally remains a con- tested space. While there are multiple definitions that encompass individual, population and environmental health literacy, the un- derlying tenet is that health literacy is critical for sustaining optimal health and well-being. 1,2 Indeed, health literacy is increasingly being viewed as a social determinant of health in its own right; and one which also powerfully influences other social determinants of health. Not surprisingly, health literacy scholarship is now synonymous with discussions about health equity. 3 That is, vulnerable, disadvantaged, disempowered and marginalised populations throughout the world are reported to have poorer health literacy; and are often faced with health systems and service environments that are hard to access or difficult to navigate. 3,4 We argue that this needs to change. And fast. The literature on equity and health literacy is relatively diffuse. Often lost across multiple sectors and with limited systematic re- search that provides clear, actionable processes by which health literacy can drive health equity forward. This means that emerging evidence is often inaccessible to policymakers and poorly utilised by health practitioners in clinical settings. It also means that the ev- idence base informing public health advocacy efforts on promoting health equity through addressing health literacy has been severely lacking. In turn, an unhelpful status quo has ensued where the links between equity and health literacy are often acknowledged but are seldom addressed in a meaningful way. This was highlighted in a recent report published by the Consumer Health Forum of Australia titled Optimising consumer-centred health and social care for now and the future, which stated: “The Commission calls for greater investment in health promotion, prevention and health literacy to make up a minimum of 5% of overall health expen- diture. Building on the societal shift we have seen during the pandemic towards health as a collective responsibility, these measures would shift the focus from individual behaviours to the underlying systemic factors in order to address the social determinants of health and reduce inequities in health outcomes.” [ 5 , p18] In recognition of the knowledge deficit around equity and health literacy, the Health Promotion Journal of Australia has partnered with the NT Primary Health Network (NTPHN) to curate a special issue with the aim to drive change and advance the development of health literacy strategies across the Australasian region. The special edition involved five guest editors using their professional networks to attract authors and quality submissions. The response has been overwhelming and led to the acceptance of 21 papers. To our knowledge, this special issue is the largest collection of articles dedicated to the topic of equity and health literacy, ever published in an Australasian peer-reviewed aca- demic journal. It provides new insights into the ways in which health literacy is being understood, experienced and addressed among some of the most disadvantaged people in our community. This includes