Incorporating health literacy in education for socially disadvantaged adults: an Australian feasibility study

International Journal for Equity in Health

Research

John Comings¹  Haryana M. Dhillon²  Heather L. Shepherd³  Esther L. Davis⁴  Karen Luxford⁵  Sian Smith⁶  Andrew Hayen⁷  Don Nutbeam⁸  Danielle M. Muscat⁹  Kirsten McCaffery⁹  Suzanne Morony⁹ 

[1] Center for International Education, University of Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, MA, USA;Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED), School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Concord Clinical School, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED), Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Psycho-oncology Co-operative Research Group (PoCoG), School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Illawarra Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, 2522, Wollongong, NSW, Australia;Patient Based Care, Clinical Excellence Commission, 2000, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Psychosocial Research Group, Prince of Wales Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, 2052, Sydney, NSW, Australia;School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, 2052, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia;The Screening and Test Evaluation Program (STEP), Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED), Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, 2006, Sydney, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Health literacy;    Adult education;    Health education;    Qualitative;    Health inequalities;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-016-0373-1

 received in 2015-11-29, accepted in 2016-05-19,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAdult education institutions have been identified as potential settings to improve health literacy and address the health inequalities that stem from limited health literacy. However, few health literacy interventions have been tested in this setting.MethodsFeasibility study for an RCT of the UK Skilled for Health Program adapted for implementation in Australian adult education settings. Implementation at two sites with mixed methods evaluation to examine feasibility, test for change in participants’ health literacy and pilot test health literacy measures.ResultsTwenty-two socially disadvantaged adults with low literacy participated in the program and received 80–90 hours of health literacy instruction. The program received institutional support from Australia’s largest provider of vocational education and training and was feasible to implement (100 % participation; >90 % completion; high teacher satisfaction). Quantitative results showed improvements in participants’ health literacy skills and confidence, with no change on a generic measure of health literacy. Qualitative analysis identified positive student and teacher engagement with course content and self-reported improvements in health knowledge, attitudes, and communication with healthcare professionals.ConclusionsPositive feasibility results support a larger RCT of the health literacy program. However, there is a need to identify better, multi-dimensional measures of health literacy in order to be able to quantify change in a larger trial. This feasibility study represents the first step in providing the high quality evidence needed to understand the way in which health literacy can be improved and health inequalities reduced through Australian adult education programs.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016