AIDS education for a low literate audience in Zambia.
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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
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.
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Parental health literacy and children's dental health: implications for the future.
Health literacy--or the lack thereof--is now seen as a major impediment to the successful implementation of many health programs. Every day, parents make decisions, take actions, and consider issues that influence not only their own health, but also that of their children. Unfortunately, it is just being recognized that the reading skills of a significant proportion of American adults are below what is necessary to understand most of the educational materials they are provided. Without the ability to read these materials, parents lack the possibility of understanding the materials and implementing any recommendations to prevent or treat disease. The goal of this paper was to introduce pediatric dentists to the scope of the problem and acquaint them with some of the efforts they can undertake to promote health literacy in their own practices.
Adult↗
The New Stories/New Cultures after-school enrichment program: a direct cultural intervention.
This article describes the organization, curriculum, and outcomes for New Stories/New Cultures, an activity-based program for after-school enrichment in five schools in the low-income neighborhood near a major American university. The program encourages students (70% Hispanic-American, 30% African-American) to experience themselves as producers of culture, not just as consumers. Its methods include (a) creative team use of video equipment and other expressive media and (b) lessons about media literacy (i.e., making critical choices about images and activities depicted in popular culture and commercials). Outcome measures with the cohort of fifth and sixth graders support the programs occupation-based philosophy. They show that students are more likely to experience themselves as building skills when engaged in activities that are both challenging and enjoyable. The students reported greatest engagement and enjoyment in activities that were creative, team-based, and involving media production. These same activities were correlated with increased self-esteem. The term direct cultural intervention is used to describe the application of occupational principles and critical perspectives to provide a population with conceptual tools and skills for interpreting and successfully navigating the social world.
Black or African American↗
Evaluation of the impact of the Family Health Program on infant mortality in Brazil, 1990-2002.
OBJECTIVE: To use publicly available secondary data to assess the impact of Brazil's Family Health Program on state level infant mortality rates (IMR) during the 1990s. DESIGN: Longitudinal ecological analysis using panel data from secondary sources. Analyses controlled for state level measures of access to clean water and sanitation, average income, women's literacy and fertility, physicians and nurses per 10,000 population, and hospital beds per 1,000 population. Additional analyses controlled for immunisation coverage and tested interactions between Family Health Program and proportionate mortality from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections. SETTING: 13 years (1990-2002) of data from 27 Brazilian states. MAIN RESULTS: From 1990 to 2002 IMR declined from 49.7 to 28.9 per 1,000 live births. During the same period average Family Health Program coverage increased from 0% to 36%. A 10% increase in Family Health Program coverage was associated with a 4.5% decrease in IMR, controlling for all other health determinants (p<0.01). Access to clean water and hospital beds per 1,000 were negatively associated with IMR, while female illiteracy, fertility rates, and mean income were positively associated with IMR. Examination of interactions between Family Health Program coverage and diarrhoea deaths suggests the programme may reduce IMR at least partly through reductions in diarrhoea deaths. Interactions with deaths from acute respiratory infections were ambiguous. CONCLUSIONS: The Family Health Program is associated with reduced IMR, suggesting it is an important, although not unique, contributor to declining infant mortality in Brazil. Existing secondary datasets provide an important tool for evaluation of the effectiveness of health services in Brazil.
Brazil↗
Diabetes self-management among low-income Spanish-speaking patients: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related morbidity and mortality is higher among low-income Hispanics when compared to that of Whites. However, little is known about how to effectively promote self-management in this population. PURPOSE: The objectives were first to determine the feasibility of conducting a randomized clinical trial of an innovative self-management intervention to improve metabolic control in low-income Spanish-speaking individuals with type 2 diabetes and second to obtain preliminary data of possible intervention effects. METHODS: Participants for this pilot study were recruited from a community health center, an elder program, and a community-wide database developed by the community health center, in collaboration with other agencies serving the community, by surveying households in the entire community. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 15) or a control (n = 10) condition. Assessments were conducted at baseline and at 3 months and 6 months postrandomization. The intervention consisted of 10 group sessions that targeted diabetes knowledge, attitudes, and self-management skills through culturally specific and literacy-sensitive strategies. The intervention used a cognitive-behavioral theoretical framework. RESULTS: Recruitment rates at the community health center, elder program, and community registry were 48%, 69%, and 8%, respectively. Completion rates for baseline, 3-month, and 6-month assessments were 100%, 92%, and 92%, respectively. Each intervention participant attended an average of 7.8 out of 10 sessions, and as a group the participants showed high adherence to intervention activities (93% turned in daily logs, and 80% self-monitored glucose levels at least daily). There was an overall Group x Time interaction (p = .02) indicating group differences in glycosylated hemoglobin over time. The estimated glycosylated hemoglobin decrease at 3 months for the intervention group was -0.8% (95% confidence intervals = -1.1%, -0.5%) compared with the change in the control group (p = .02). At 6 months, the decrease in the intervention group remained significant, -0.85% (95% confidence intervals = -1.2, -0.5), and the decrease was still significantly different from that of the controls (p = .005). There was a trend toward increased physical activity in the intervention group as compared to that of the control group (p = .11) and some evidence (nonsignificant) of an increase in blood glucose self-monitoring in the intervention participants but not the control participants. Adjusting for baseline depressive scores, we observed a significant difference in depressive symptoms between intervention participants and control participants at the 3-month assessment (p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Low-income Spanish-speaking Hispanics are receptive to participate in diabetes-related research. This study shows that the pilot-tested diabetes self-management program is promising and warrants the conduct of a randomized clinical trial.
Aged↗
Inadequate functional health literacy in Spanish as a barrier to cervical cancer screening among immigrant Latinas in New York City.
INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to examine the association between inadequate functional health literacy in Spanish among low-income Latinas aged 40 and older and cervical cancer screening knowledge and behavior. METHODS: Spanish-speaking Latinas aged 40-78 of various nationalities (n = 205) participated in a study that included a survey on cervical cancer knowledge and behavior administered in Spanish and the Spanish version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. RESULTS: Compared to those with adequate and marginal health literacy, women with inadequate functional health literacy in Spanish were significantly less likely to have ever had a Papanicolaou (Pap) test (odds ratio, 0.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.04-0.37) or in the last three years (odds ratio, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.18-0.68) and were significantly more likely to have had their last Pap test at a local public hospital (odds ratio, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.18-4.97). Even when controlling for other factors, women with inadequate health literacy were 16.7 times less likely (adjusted odds ratio, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.01-0.55) to have ever had a Pap test. CONCLUSION: Almost half of the population we studied will have difficulty interpreting written medical materials, even in Spanish. When developing efforts to reach women who have not been screened, programs and service providers need to be aware that the women most in need of information about screening may be more likely to be unable to read any written materials provided to them, regardless of the language or level of simplicity of the materials. Programs and strategies need to be implemented to increase screening prevalence and to minimize the identified gaps in regular screening for Latinas who have low health literacy.
Adult↗
The InterCon network: a program for education partnerships at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center.
The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center (UT-Houston) has created programs and activities to address the state's pressing needs in minority education. Through InterCon, a network of universities and K-12 schools, UT-Houston works with its partners to identify competitive candidates in the current pool of minority graduates with bachelor's degrees and to help them--along with their non-minority counterparts--progress in their education. Another objective is to expand the pool of minorities underrepresented in medicine who complete high school and go to college. In 1994 UT-Houston and Prairie View A&M University created a collaborative venture to provide new educational opportunities at UT-Houston for Prairie View's predominantly African American students. A three-track summer internship program--a result of that collaboration--has since been expanded to partnerships with other minority and majority universities throughout Texas. In 1998, for example, 108 undergraduate students from these universities (and 40 other universities nationwide) participated in research, professional, and administrative summer internships at UT-Houston. The InterCon network also has partnerships with K-12 schools. UT-Houston works with inner-city, suburban, and rural school districts to develop education models that can be transferred throughout the state. The partnerships deal with helping to teach basic academic skills and computer literacy, improve science-related instruction, meet demands for health promotion materials and information for school-initiated health and wellness programs, and develop distance-learning paradigms. UT-Houston views InterCon as a program helping Texas institutions to engage and adapt to the socioeconomic factors, demographic changes, and technology explosion that currently challenge public education.
Community-Institutional Relations↗
Health research literacy: a new approach to involving rural general practitioners in research and evaluation.
Rural general practitioners (GPs) are currently involved in two concurrent and systematic programs of research/evaluation. These programs are generated, respectively, by initiatives in rural health and in general practice. This paper examines the consequences of this involvement by GPs as implementers and/or targets of components of each of these programs, and concludes that it is appropriate that they be provided in a systematic way with the knowledge and skills base they need to empower them to participate in (both developmentally and at the implementation level) and/or to appraise the research impinging on their lives. Six broad levels of involvement in rural health research are identified for rural doctors in this paper, which proposes an innovative strategy--health research literary--to assist doctors at these various levels of involvement.
Australia↗
Nursing students respond to a computer assignment.
Computer-generated information is becoming increasingly important in nursing. Nursing schools are faced with the need to ensure that students have basic informatics skills and rudimentary computer literacy. This article describes the introduction of an assignment using electronic communication skills within a teaching-learning course in a baccalaureate program. The assignment was designed to introduce the students to several tasks that would be useful to them in their studies as well as in their care of clients. Students learned to send electronic mail, post to a class list, use search engines, access libraries, and critique web pages. They developed increased confidence and skill, advancing from informed user to proficient user status as identified by Ronald & Skiba. The students' appraisal of the assignment in terms of value to their nursing education and their nursing careers indicated that they recognized the value of these skills for their professional nursing lives. Activities were monitored for content and technical glitches. Lessons learned are highlighted, and "Inbox overload" is identified. The authors found that nursing curricula can be designed to meet the challenge of fostering computer literacy. The assignment could be easily adapted for continuing education or other professional education endeavors.
Attitude to Computers↗
Development of a transcultural health education program for the Hmong.
CNSs face unique opportunities and challenges in meeting the health care needs of culturally diverse populations. As an education consultant involved in the development and implementation of a transcultural health education program, a CNS is required to have expert knowledge of the target population's health beliefs, values, and practices as well as knowledge of their language, level of literacy, and traditional teaching-learning styles. A critical consideration includes the use of a pluralistic model of education that addresses both the implicit and explicit conditions of learning and education. This paper describes the model and its application in the development and implementation of a health education program for the Hmong. The transcultural education process is examined and analyzed for appropriateness and effectiveness.
Health Education↗
Priorities and practice in tropical paediatrics.
More than 14 million children under 5 years of age die annually in the Third World, mainly due to diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria and immunizable diseases. The problems of poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation, illiteracy and high fertility that traditionally are associated with underdevelopment are now being compounded by social disruption due to rapid changes in lifestyle, new diseases such as AIDS and Third World debt. A vital part of the solution is provision of basic medical and education services to all, with emphasis on female literacy and improving the status of women. Key elements in providing basic medical services are delegation and empowerment. Doctors must delegate the delivery of essential child health services to appropriately trained and adequately supported auxiliaries. Parents, especially mothers, need to be empowered with the knowledge and resources to recognize and manage, or assist in the management of, their children's health problems.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
Dyslexia and music. From timing deficits to musical intervention.
The underlying causes of the language and literacy difficulties experienced by dyslexic children are not yet fully understood, but current theories suggest that timing deficits may be a key factor. Dyslexic children have been found to exhibit timing difficulties in the domains of language, music, perception and cognition, as well as motor control. The author has previously suggested that group music lessons, based on singing and rhythm games, might provide a valuable multisensory support tool for dyslexic children by encouraging the development of important auditory and motor timing skills and subsequently language skills. In order to examine this hypothesis, a research program was designed that involved the development of group music lessons and musical tests for dyslexic children in addition to three experimental studies. It was found that classroom music lessons had a positive effect on both phonologic and spelling skills, but not reading skills. Results also indicated that dyslexic children showed difficulties with musical timing skills while showing no difficulties with pitch skills. These apparent disassociations between spelling and reading ability and musical timing and pitch ability are discussed. The results of the research program are placed in the context of a more general model of the potential relationship between musical training and improved language and literacy skills.
Auditory Perception↗
An evaluation of an online intervention to provide social support and health education.
Managing chronic illness in the isolation of rural environments is challenging for women who lack access to personal sources of social support and health information. The Women to Women project was designed to provide chronically ill rural women access to support and health information via electronic means. This article reports on the acquisition of computer skills, the perceptions of importance of various aspects of the intervention, and an assessment of women's overall satisfaction with participation in the research project. Findings indicate that the women's self-ratings of computer skills improved significantly over the 22-week intervention and that highly interactive features of the project were rated as most important by the participants. Overall, women found the program beneficial in assisting them to better manage their chronic illness.
Attitude to Computers↗
Effectiveness of a Web-Based Educational eHealth Platform on Women's Health Literacy About Phthalate Exposure: Randomized Controlled Trial.
BACKGROUND: Phthalates are environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals widely used in plastics, cosmetics, food packaging, and personal care products. Women may experience frequent exposure through everyday consumer and household products. Improving phthalate-related health literacy may support informed exposure-reduction decisions; however, conventional health education provides limited opportunities for repeated, interactive, and individually tailored learning. OBJECTIVE: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of an eHealth educational intervention (Phthalates Free) in improving women's overall and domain-specific phthalate-related health literacy and examined the association between platform engagement and health literacy outcomes. METHODS: A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in the outpatient department of a regional teaching hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. A total of 114 women were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=58) receiving a 6-month eHealth platform-based education program and a control group (n=56) receiving conventional paper-based education. Assessments were conducted at baseline (T0), 3 months (T1), and 6 months (T2). The Phthalate Health Literacy Scale (10 items; α=.90, content validity index=0.93) measured overall and domain-specific literacy (health care, disease prevention, and health promotion). Longitudinal outcomes were analyzed using generalized estimating equations based on all available observations according to participants' original randomized assignments, with adjustment for waist circumference and pregnancy history. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare 6-month outcomes after adjustment for baseline scores. Platform engagement and perceived usability were assessed using back-end analytics and the System Usability Scale (SUS). RESULTS: At 6 months, the intervention group showed a significantly greater increase in total health literacy than the control group (+9.93 points, Wald χ²1=17.74; P<.001). Domain analyses revealed significant improvements in health care (+1.52; P=.001), disease prevention (+1.32; P=.001), and health promotion (+1.12; P=.001) domains. ANCOVA confirmed the between-group difference at T2 after adjusting for baseline scores (F1,109=11.43; P=.001; adjusted mean difference=7.15, 95% CI 2.96-11.34). Engagement analysis showed that high-engagement users (n=10) scored significantly higher in overall health literacy (t55=-3.00; P=.004) and all domains than general users. The SUS results (mean 84.7, SD 5.2; n=46, 79.3%) indicated high perceived usability. CONCLUSIONS: The Phthalates Free eHealth educational intervention significantly improved women's overall and domain-specific health literacy over 6 months. Higher platform engagement was associated with better health literacy outcomes. The intervention may serve as a practical adjunct to nurse-led education in outpatient and community settings by providing accessible, continuous, and evidence-based guidance on reducing phthalate exposure.
Humans↗
Using focus group methods to develop multicultural cancer pain education materials.
Methods to treat cancer pain effectively have existed for more than 2 decades. However, the effective treatment of cancer pain continues to elude many patients with cancer who suffer from poor management. Although efforts to address the problem of cancer pain in the United States have acknowledged the importance of patient education and advocacy, few endeavors, to date, have attended to the special needs of inner-city, low-literacy, or socioeconomically disadvantaged patients from minority cultural groups. From 1992 to 1995, the Boston Cancer Pain Education Program, funded by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society, worked collaboratively with community representatives using focus group methods to develop a culturally sensitive, linguistically appropriate cancer pain education booklet in 11 languages and for 11 ethnic groups. The booklet serves as a guide for patients and families and is to be used as a teaching tool by clinicians. The focus group approach was used to develop materials that would empower patients and families to more effectively participate in pain management when working with health care providers from cultures other than their own. Qualitative data analysis methods were used to analyze transcripts of taped focus group sessions. Themes emerged from the data regarding pain and its culturally competent management as well as the group process of booklet development.
Boston↗
Efficacy outcome and sex difference in learning of hypermedia programming skills.
86 occupational therapy students participated in a 20-hr, training course in hypermedia programming for selecting functions for development of rehabilitation software. Analyses showed that the training program significantly enhanced their self-efficacy in development of software for clinical practice. The students generally showed a positive attitude towards the feasibility and significance of applying hypermedia programming in occupational therapy, but no significant sex difference in programming self-efficacy was found.
Adolescent↗
Current trends in assistive technology education in entry-level occupational therapy curricula.
OBJECTIVE: This replication study investigated what changes, if any, occurred in the education of entry-level occupational therapy students relative to assistive technology between 1989 and 1994-1995. METHOD: A questionnaire was mailed to all entry-level occupational therapy programs in the United States (N = 79). The response rate was 88.6% (n = 70). Results were compared with those of a similar survey that examined the same issues in 1989. RESULTS: Assistive technology education had increased from 1989 to 1994-1995 in 11 identified areas. The highest increases were found in environmental access and robotics, sensory aids, augmentative communication, and prosthetics and orthotics. Only 10% of the respondent programs had less than 20 hours of assistive technology education compared with 50% in the earlier study. Thirty (43%) programs included one or more technology courses in the curriculum compared with 17 (29%) in 1989, and 62 (89%) programs included assistive technology content in lectures or units throughout the curriculum compared with 32 (54%) in 1989. CONCLUSION: Occupational therapy educators are placing more emphasis on assistive technology education than they did in 1989 and are learning the skills to teach this content. If this trend continues, we will see assistive technology content taught in all occupational therapy programs in the next millennium.
Computer Literacy↗
Learn about information technology--or die!
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Computer Literacy↗