This teaching guide is part of a series of materials developed, with input from adult learners, to aid adult literacy teachers in incorporating health education into the curriculum. This guide aims to help teachers to provide adult students with information about the variety of health care resources available, accessing these resources, and determining when to seek professional consultation. The guide provides the goals and objectives of the course and background information on many health-related topics: health; different types of health needs; sources of health care; primary care providers; choosing a provider, a hospital, and emergency care; specialized care; escalating health care costs; preventive health care; payment of health care costs; the rights of health care consumers; and tips on making the system work. The guide includes sample lessons, a glossary of key terms, and a resource list of toll-free telephone numbers, organizations and services, magazines and articles, and books. Six appendixes provide the following: summary of American Cancer Society recommendations, self-examinations, patient's bill of rights, the role of medical professionals, health care proxy, and state of New York offices of mental health. (KC)