Call for Awards & Judges (Now Closed)

Years of professional practice bring valuable insight. Now’s your opportunity to help recognize excellence and elevate impactful work in health literacy. Be an active part of our upcoming conference by:

  • Nominating an individual or team (including yourself) whose work has advanced health literacy, or
  • Serving as a judge, applying your expertise to evaluate award nominations.

1Nominate an Award Recipient

Have you or someone you know made a meaningful contribution to health literacy through written communication, research, programs, or policy? Each year, the Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA) honors outstanding achievements that empower people to achieve better health.

Nominations are welcome from the United States and internationally.

Award Recipients Receive

  • A personalized crystal award
  • A $500 honorarium
  • Recognition on the IHA Conference website
  • A digital award badge
  • Social media recognition
  • An invitation to participate in a conference roundtable, giving attendees the opportunity to learn more about the award-winning work and engage directly with recipients

Award Categories

Projects that demonstrate innovative, practical, and effective solutions to address limited health literacy.

Print or digital materials that support clear, accessible communication for individuals with limited health literacy.

Research that explores the relationship between literacy skills and health outcomes, or
evaluates health literacy interventions.

Efforts outside the United States that empower individuals and communities through improved health literacy.

Recognizes a student or early-career professional whose contributions demonstrate
promise, leadership, or innovation in advancing health literacy or health equity.
Contributions may include participation in projects, programs, research, written materials, or
community-based initiatives, even if the nominee was not the project lead.

For this award, an early-career professional is defined as an individual within five (5)
years of entering the health literacy field or completing their terminal degree.

How to Submit a Nomination

The submission platform will open on February 12, 2026. At that time, you may log in and submit your nomination.

Selection Process

A panel of volunteer judges will anonymously review and score all nominations. One recipient
will be selected per award category.

To be eligible, nominated projects must:

  1. Empower individuals or communities to achieve better health
  2. Address an aspect of health literacy
  3. Aim to solve a clearly defined healthcare or communication problem
  4. Be current, with a completion date within the past two years
  5. Demonstrate current or potential impact on the broader healthcare community

Key Dates for Award Nominations

Feb 12, 2026

Call for award nominations and judge applications opens

Mar 12, 2026

Submission deadline

Mar 13, 2026

Judges notified

Mar 17–31, 2026

Judging period

Apr 3, 2026

Nominees notified of results

2Serve as a Judge

Interested in helping identify and recognize excellence in health literacy? Judges play a critical role in ensuring a fair and meaningful selection process.

Judge Eligibility Requirements

To serve as a judge, you must:

  1. Submit a judge application
  2. Review entries objectively and disclose or recuse yourself from any conflicts of interest
  3. Refrain from submitting a personal nomination
  4. Be available to review nominations between March 17–31, 2026

Judge Benefits

All confirmed judges will receive:

  • Certificate of Appreciation acknowledging your contribution to the 25th Annual Conference
  • IHA-branded gift as a thank-you for your service
  • Digital badge for LinkedIn profiles, personal websites, and email signatures
  • Early insight into emerging work through exposure to innovative proposals across health literacy practice, education, research, and community engagement
  • Professional development experience that strengthens skills in evaluation, communication, and peer review
  • Recognition in conference materials

How to Submit a Volunteer Judge Application

The judge application platform will open on February 12, 2026.

Take Action

Help us recognize and celebrate excellence in health literacy. Whether you nominate a deserving contributor or serve as a judge, your participation helps strengthen the field.