Literacy comes second: working with groups in developing societies.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Developing Countries↗
SEARCH · PubMed Health
Results for “Literacy Programs”
Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Adolescents, sex, and the media: ooooo, baby, baby-a Q & A.
The media arguably have become the leading sex educator for American children and adolescents. More than 80% of the top teen shows contain sexual content, and the average teen views nearly 14,000 sexual references on television alone. The gap between suggestive and responsible content on primetime television is narrowing, but only slowly. Parents and teachers need to recognize the power of the media to educate and begin incorporating principles of media literacy into existing sex education programs.
Adolescent↗
Correlates of weight loss and muscle-gaining behavior in 10- to 14-year-old males and females.
BACKGROUND: This study examined the influence of appearance and social acceptance esteem, awareness and internalization of media stereotypes, body size acceptance, and teasing on the weight loss and muscle-gaining behaviors of 10- to 14-year-old boys and girls. METHODS: Male (n = 670) and female (n = 788) students were drawn from one of four public senior middle schools (grades 6-8) in Southern Ontario as part of a longitudinal outcome-based study. Students' baseline self-report questionnaires, measuring the above variables, were analyzed for the purposes of this study. RESULTS: A higher percentage of girls reported engaging in weight loss behaviors, whereas a higher percentage of boys admitted to muscle gaining and the use of specific weight control methods such as laxative use and vomiting. Regression analyses revealed that internalization of media messages and body size acceptance were equally predictive of boys' weight loss and muscle-gaining behaviors, while teasing was found to also predict their muscle-gaining behavior. Among the girls, appearance esteem, internalization of media stereotypes, and body size acceptance were predictive of weight loss behaviors. None of the study variables were predictive of girls' muscle-gaining behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Weight loss and muscle-gaining behaviors appear to have their onset in children as young as 10 years. The findings support the need for prevention programs that focus on media literacy and ways to decrease weight-based teasing in the school setting.
Adolescent↗
Readability of patient handout materials in a nationwide sample of alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs.
The objective of this study was to assess the readability of a nationwide sample of alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs' materials. Of 646 programs that were randomly selected from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information directory, 52 programs returned completed materials. The average readability grade level of materials was 11.84 (SD = 0.94). The program staff estimations were significantly lower than actual reading levels of materials, and no program characteristics correlated with readability levels. Thus, it was concluded that materials written at high readability levels may not be effective tools for all patients. Integrating knowledge regarding program materials' readability level and literacy levels of different populations could be successful aides to substance abuse treatment.
Comprehension↗
Implications for breast and cervical cancer control for Latinas in the rural South: a review of the literature.
The Latino population has more than tripled in six southern US states. Little research exists describing the Latino population in the rural South and the unique cancer control needs of this group. This article reviews existing literature on Latinas with a focus on rural southern settlement processes and applicable breast and cervical cancer control research. Recommendations for effective cancer control programs include developing special outreach efforts conducted with monolingual Latinas, incorporating important cultural components and values related to family, spirituality, and community, and designing programs that incorporate low-literacy materials and messages or that do not require literacy to participate. Understanding the social, cultural, and economic issues that Latinas face is an important first step in designing culturally relevant breast and cervical cancer control.
Breast Neoplasms↗
Tennessee Self-concept Scale scores of urban African-American women.
The Tennessee Self-concept Scale: Second Edition scores of 33 urban, African-American women were compared in a pretest-posttest design. The treatment was exposure to a 3-mo. literacy and social skills training program. Contrary to expectations, scores on just two subscales--Self-criticism and Physical Self--fell outside the average range. Also, Physical Self was the only scale score to change significantly (-3.83). These results suggest that self-esteem scores of urban African Americans were similar to those of women in the general population.
Adult↗
Transforming schools into communities of thinking and learning about serious matters.
In this article, a program of research known as Fostering Communities of Learners is described. This program is in place in several schools and classrooms serving inner-city students from 6 to 12 years of age. Based on theoretical advances in cognitive and developmental psychology, the program is successful at improving both literacy skills and domain-area subject matter knowledge (e.g., environmental science and biology). Building on young children's emergent strategic and metacognitive knowledge, together with their skeletal biological theories, the program leads children to discover the deep principles of the domain and to develop flexible learning and inquiry strategies of wide applicability.
Child↗
Computer-assisted tracking of a case management program for the homeless.
Computer scan sheet technology was used to evaluate process and outcome variables in a case management shelter program for the homeless. Clients spent up to four months in this program, working on a number of goal areas, including housing, employment, drugs and alcohol, mental and physical health, and literacy. Using Tele-Form, a computer program that allows scan sheets to be designed on screen, case manager recording forms were developed that allowed interventions to be documented on a daily basis, while psychosocial goal areas were documented on scan sheets at intake and termination. Data from these scan sheets were fed into SPSS, a statistical program for the social sciences. Using the case management tracking guidelines developed by Frankel and LaPorte, 1998, the results of this study showed that scan sheet technology was an effective, efficient, and extremely cost-effective way to track case management. The analysis of the data and subsequent discussion suggested ways about how to make case management evaluation more uniform across the country.
Case Management↗
Benefits and costs of Channel One in a middle school setting and the role of media-literacy training.
OBJECTIVES: Channel One is a public-affairs program that includes 10 minutes of news and 2 minutes of paid product advertising or public service announcements. Advocates assert that it increases public-affairs knowledge, but critics charge that it garners a captive audience for teen-targeted advertising. This experiment analyzed the differential effects of Channel One depending on whether early-adolescent viewers received a media-literacy lesson in conjunction with viewing the program. Outcomes included perceptions of Channel One news programming, recall of program content and advertising, materialism, and political efficacy. METHODS: Researchers used a posttest-only field experiment (N = 240) of seventh- and eighth-grade students using random assignment to conditions. Conditions included a control group, a group that received a fact-based lesson, and a group that received the same lesson content using a more emotive teaching style. It was expected that the emotion-added lesson condition would be more effective than the logic-only lesson condition because of its motivational component. RESULTS: On average, students remembered more ads from Channel One than news stories. Participants in the control group remembered fewer news stories than did the groups that received the lessons. Students reported having purchased during the preceding 3 months an average of 2.5 items advertised on the program. Both fact-based and affect-added training increased student skepticism toward advertisers. As expected, student liking of the program enhanced their learning from it and was associated with higher levels of political efficacy. Students held misconceptions about the role of their school in the production of Channel One. CONCLUSIONS: The use of Channel One by schools can have benefits, but these come with risk that some may consider unacceptable. On the positive side, student liking of the program was associated with their political efficacy. Although those who responded positively to program content and presentation style learned more from it, they also tended to want things that they saw in the advertisements. The data therefore show that the program can provide some benefits to young adolescents, but the results also provide justification for concerns about the commercialization of the classroom.
Adolescent↗
Materials and strategies that work in low literacy health communication.
In a Maine Area Health Education Center program some solutions were developed to the well-documented problem of health information material that cannot be read or comprehended by low literacy adults. Professionals in health education and adult education were trained to produce easy-to-read health materials and created dozens of low-cost pamphlets on the nation's year 2000 health objectives. The pamphlets are easily reproducible on a copy machine. Concurrently, a model for teaching oral communication skills to health care providers who deal with low-literacy adults was developed in partnership with Maine's largest rural health center delivery system. The train-the-trainers model reached more than 500 direct health care service providers. Participants in the two programs gained skills useful in all aspects of public communication that are replicable in other cities, States, and regions.
Communication Barriers↗
Health literacy: implications for family medicine.
As many as 90 million Americans have difficulty understanding and acting on health information. This health literacy epidemic is increasingly recognized as a problem that influences health care quality and cost. Yet many physicians do not recognize the problem or lack the skills and confidence to approach the subject with patients. In this issue of Family Medicine, several articles address health literacy in family medicine. Wallace and Lennon examined the readability of American Academy of Family Physicians patient education materials available via the Internet. They found that three of four handouts were written above the average reading level of American adults. Rosenthal and colleagues surveyed residents and found they lacked the confidence to screen and counsel adults about literacy. They used a Reach Out and Read program with accompanying resident education sessions to provide a practical and effective means for incorporating literacy assessment and counseling into primary care. Chew and colleagues presented an alternative to existing health literacy screening tests by asking three questions to detect inadequate health literacy. Likewise, Shea and colleagues reviewed the prospect of shortening the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), a commonly used health literacy screening tool. Both the Chew and Shea articles highlight the need for improved methods for recognizing literacy problems in the clinical setting. Further research is required to identify effective interventions that will strengthen the skills and coping strategies of both patients and providers and also prevent and limit poor reading and numeracy ability in the next generation.
Adult↗
Nepal moves mountains with literacy.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Asia↗
An intensive primary-literature-based teaching program directly benefits undergraduate science majors and facilitates their transition to doctoral programs.
UCLA's Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Program (HHURP), a collaboration between the College of Letters and Science and the School of Medicine, trains a group of highly motivated undergraduates through mentored research enhanced by a rigorous seminar course. The course is centered on the presentation and critical analysis of scientific journal articles as well as the students' own research. This article describes the components and objectives of the HHURP and discusses the results of three program assessments: annual student evaluations, interviews with UCLA professors who served as research advisors for HHURP scholars, and a survey of program alumni. Students indicate that the program increased their ability to read and present primary scientific research and to present their own research and enhanced their research experience at UCLA. After graduating, they find their involvement in the HHURP helped them in securing admission to the graduate program of their choice and provided them with an advantage over their peers in the interactive seminars that are the foundation of graduate education. On the basis of the assessment of the program from 1998-1999 to 2004-2005, we conclude that an intensive literature-based training program increases student confidence and scientific literacy during their undergraduate years and facilitates their transition to postgraduate study.
California↗
Do you Mini-Med School? Leveraging library resources to improve Internet consumer health information literacy.
Popular for engaging public interest in medical science while promoting health awareness, Mini-Med School (MMS) programs also afford important if largely unrealized opportunities to improve the health information literacy of attendees. With a growing population using the Internet to make health decisions, needed venues for improving Internet Consumer Health Information (CHI) literacy may be found in the MMS platform. Surveyed directors of MMS programs understand the need to include CHI, and successful programs at SUNY Stony Brook and elsewhere demonstrate the potential for collaboration with affiliated health sciences libraries to integrate CHI instruction into MMS curricula.
Academic Medical Centers↗
Preparing student nurses, faculty and clinicians for 21st century informatics practice: findings from a national survey of nursing education programs in the United States.
Because healthcare delivery increasingly mandates data-driven decision-making, it is imperative that informatics knowledge and skills are integrated into nursing education curricula for all future nurse clinicians and educators. A national online survey of deans/directors of 266 baccalaureate and higher nursing education programs in the U.S. identified perceived informatics competencies and knowledge of under-graduate and graduate nursing students; determined the preparedness of nurse faculty to teach and use informatics tools; and elicited perceptions of informatics requirements of local practicing nurses. Frequency data and qualitative responses were analyzed. Approximately half of the programs reported requiring word processing and email skills upon entry into the nursing major. The use of standardized languages and the nurse's role in the life cycle of an information system were the least visible informatics content at all levels. Half of program faculty, rated as "novice" or "advanced beginners", are teaching information literacy skills. Findings have major implications for nurse educators, staff developers, and program administrators who are planning faculty/staff development opportunities and designing nursing education curricula that prepare nurses for professional practice.
Curriculum↗
Ethical, legal and social issues in newborn screening in the United States.
Four million babies are born annually in the US. There are 51 separate laws mandating universal screening and each has its own restrictions. Forty-nine programs allow the parents to "opt out" of testing (dissent), and 2 programs allow the parents to "opt in" (consent). The extent to which these decisions are "informed" varies and in most cases, no information exists as to whether the parents knew or understood what the newborn screening program entailed. Most programs have educational material available describing the state program but whether this information is the information needed (in terms of literacy level and content) to provide a sufficient understanding of the program is not generally known. In most programs, testing is automatic and the program information is contained in the hospital materials given to the mother upon entry or exit from the birthing facility. All newborn screening programs are administered by the state public health agency and ultimately the state legislatures are responsible for creating the laws governing newborn screening. Financing mechanisms are complex with fees varying from $0 - $60 and not directly related to the number of disorders screened, although system components such as education, methods of sample collection, sample submission, laboratory testing, follow-up, confirmation, diagnosis, treatment, outcome and quality assurance are considered in most fee setting processes. The standards for programs have developed over the years at least partly as a result of medical-legal confrontations. During the past several years there has been a notable increase in program expansions including expanded biochemical testing and screening for hearing loss. In 1999, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau funded a newborn screening task force to review the issues facing state newborn screening systems and to make recommendations for improvements and/or changes in these systems. Two primary issues of ethical, legal and social consequence were considered: (1) the inclusion of diverse groups (including consumers) in newborn screening decision making, and (2) existence of adequate policies regarding privacy, consent, and research ethics. Following extended review and discussion, the Task Force recommended greater emphasis on parent education, permission for testing, and prenatal education. It was also recognized that studies should be carried out to improve parental understanding of newborn screening and the informed permission process, and to improve the public's overall understanding of the screening process.
Ethics, Research↗
Development of an adaptive multimedia program to collect patient health data.
BACKGROUND: Direct entry of personal health survey information into a computer by patients could streamline clinical data collection, improve completeness and accuracy of health information available to providers, and provide data for tailoring health education messages. Few computerized programs, however, have been developed to adapt the interface to diverse literacy levels, language, computer skills, and health literacy levels of the broad spectrum of patient populations. METHODS: To develop such a program, we conducted cognitive response interviews with a diverse sample of 21 adult participants from two North Carolina health clinics. Participants were placed into one of three interview categories: (1) low reading skill level, low computer skills; (2) high reading skill level, low computer skills; and (3) high reading skill level, high computer skills. The "think-aloud" technique was employed to elicit feedback on a series of computer interface screens and health risk assessment questions. RESULTS: Interface-related findings showed that preference for touchscreen versus keyboard data entry was not strongly related to computer skill level but was related to question type. Respondents with limited education indicated that they would not click on a "help" or hyperlink option to get more information and that frequent reminders of directions on the screen were needed. Content-related findings showed numerous misperceptions regarding meanings of common health questions and terminology (e.g., seat belt use and intravenous drugs). CONCLUSIONS: These findings have implications for health literacy and may have an impact on the accuracy of information obtained. Study results will be incorporated into the development and testing of an innovative, adaptive multimedia program.
Adult↗
The effects of in-service education to promote emergent literacy in child care centers: a feasibility study.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of a 2-day in-service education program for (a) promoting the use of two emergent literacy strategies by early childhood educators and (b) increasing children's responses to these strategies. METHOD: Sixteen early childhood educators were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. The experimental in-service program sought to increase educators' use of abstract utterances and print references. Educators were videotaped with small groups of preschoolers during storybook reading and a post-story craft activity. Pretest and posttest videotapes were coded to yield rates of abstract language, verbal print references, and children's responses. RESULTS: In comparison to the control group, educators in the experimental program used more abstract utterances that elicited talk about emotions and children's past experiences during storybook reading. They also used significantly more print references during a post-story craft activity. In addition, children in the experimental group responded more often with appropriate responses to abstract utterances and print references in comparison to children in the control group. CONCLUSION: A 2-day in-service education program resulted in short-term behavioral changes in educators' use of abstract language and print references. Suggestions for improving instruction include providing opportunities for classroom practice with feedback, modeling the use of strategies in classroom routines, and long-term mentoring of educators to promote retention of gains.
Adult↗