Keeping Current
More articles on health literacy from PubMed
There is a tremendous body of literature and news written on health literacy and patient engagement best practices. To make it easier for you to stay informed on current and emerging trends in the field, we regularly update this page to help you keep current on the latest news and publications.
For publications on health literacy by UNC-afiliated scholars only, see our section on Articles by UNC Scholars on Health Literacy.
Journal Articles
The following journal articles on health literacy are listed in chronological order. Skip to News Features
Health Literacy Articles
- Promoting the adoption of behaviors to prevent osteoporosis using the health belief model integrated with health literacy: quasi-experimental intervention study December 7, 2021CONCLUSION: The educational intervention based on an HBM integrated with HL was effective and acceptable in correcting and promoting walking and nutrition behaviors to prevent osteoporosis among health volunteers. Therefore, it can be said that the intervention implemented was in line with the developed model used.Rahman Panahi
- Correction to: Digital mental health literacy -program for the first-year medical students' wellbeing: a one group quasi-experimental study December 7, 2021No abstractMarjo Kurki
- "We have to learn to cooperate with each other": a qualitative study to explore integration of traditional healers into the provision of HIV self-testing and tuberculosis screening in Eswatini December 7, 2021CONCLUSIONS: Offering HIV self-testing kits and sputum containers through traditional healers led to high HIV yields, but no TB diagnoses. The intervention was appreciated by healers' clients, due to the cultural literacy of traditional healers and practical considerations. Scaling-up this approach could bridge testing gaps if traditional healers are supported, but procedures for receiving sputum […]Bernadette Schausberger
- Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of Latinas in cleaning occupations in northern New Jersey: a cross-sectional mixed methods study December 7, 2021CONCLUSIONS: Latinas in cleaning occupations face a range of social and health barriers including lack of safety and health training, inadequate PPE and low literacy. To address these issues, the development of an intervention is warranted to provide training and resources for this critical population of essential workers.Erin Speiser
- Attention-deficit Disorder, Family Factors, and Oral Health Literacy December 7, 2021CONCLUSIONS: OHL in adolescents was influenced by family adaptability and cohesion, signs of ADHD, maternal schooling, and family income.Mirella de Fátima Liberato de Moura
- Physical Literacy in Elementary Physical Education: A Survey of Fundamental Movement Skill Practice Patterns December 7, 2021PURPOSE: To describe fundamental movement skill (FMS) practice patterns in the elementary physical education (PE) curriculum.Lauren S Butler
- What the Canadian public (mis)understands about eyes and eye care December 7, 2021CONCLUSION: Vision-threatening knowledge gaps and misinformation about eyes and eye care among Canadian respondents highlight the need for accessible, targeted public education.Marlee M Spafford
- Nursing informatics in undergraduate nursing education in Australia prior to COVID-19: A scoping review December 6, 2021CONCLUSION: This study provided a baseline perspective of how NI was embedded and integrated into nursing education in Australia before Covid-19. Overwhelmingly the focus of research to date was found to be mainly on the utilisation of technological tools to support learning and teaching..Alexis Harerimana
- Inadequate Mental Health Literacy and Insufficient Physical Activity Potentially Increase the Risks of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese College Students December 6, 2021Objective: The present study aimed to examine the interactive associations between physical activity and mental health literacy with anxiety and depressive symptoms in Chinese college students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2020. A total of 7,512 students were recruited from two medical colleges in Hefei and Anqing city in Anhui […]Xuexue Huang
- A First Look at Applied Behavior Analysis Service Delivery to Latino American Families Raising a Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder December 6, 2021Recent statistics indicate children of Latino background are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at a much later age than their non-Latino White counterparts. Once a diagnosis is made, it is critically important that families get access to evidence-based interventions, including applied behavior analysis (ABA) services. However, disadvantaging factors such as a lack of awareness […]Rocío Rosales
- Promoting Navigation Health Literacy at the Intersection of Schools and Communities. Development of the Game-Based Intervention Nebolus December 6, 2021Emerging empirical evidence indicates a limited health literacy for a substantial proportion of children and adolescents. Although it is generally agreed upon promoting health literacy as early as possible in the lifespan, there is a lack of interventions addressing children and adolescents and their primary living environments. This article describes the development of Nebolus, a […]Kevin Dadaczynski
- Negative Impacts of COVID-19 Induced Lockdown on Changes in Eating Behavior, Physical Activity, and Mental Health as Modified by Digital Healthy Diet Literacy and eHealth Literacy December 6, 2021Background: The COVID-19-induced lockdown has been implemented in many countries, which may cause unfavorable changes in lifestyles and psychological health. People's health literacy, healthy diet, and lifestyles play important roles in mitigating the negative impacts of the pandemic. Therefore, we aimed to examine associations of COVID-19 lockdown with changes in eating behavior, physical activity, and […]Tham T Nguyen
- Response to letter on 'Which literacy for health promotion: health, food, nutrition or media?' December 6, 2021No abstractCharlene Elliott
- Improved food literacy among schoolchildren as an effect of a food camp intervention: Results of a controlled effectiveness trial December 6, 2021Food literacy (FL) refers to an individual's prerequisites for their engagement with food. Schoolchildren's FL has been defined in terms of five competencies: "to know"(e.g food-related knowledge), "to do" (e.g cooking skills), "to sense" (e.g. less well-explored sensory experiences), "to care" (e.g. taking care of oneself and others) and "to want" (e.g. willingness to take […]Peter Elsborg
- The relationship between musculoskeletal health literacy and upper extremity patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in the setting of atraumatic shoulder pain December 6, 2021INTRODUCTION: D Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are commonly utilized to assess patient-derived orthopaedic health status and function. The prevalence of limited musculoskeletal health literacy (MHL) has been demonstrated to be high within the orthopaedic literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between MHL and upper extremity-specific PROMs and to determine which […]Konrad Gruson
Health Literacy in the News
The following news items are listed in chronological order. Return to Journal Articles.
Impact of health literacy on shared decision making for prostate‐specific antigen screening in the United State
November 9, 2020 (American Cancer Society)
Current guidelines endorse shared decision making (SDM) for prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) screening. The relationship between a patient’s health literacy (HL) and SDM remains unclear. In the current study, the authors sought to identify the impact of HL on the rates of PSA screening and on the relationship between HL and SDM following the 2012 US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations against PSA screening.
Access Impact of health literacy on shared decision making for prostate‐specific antigen screening in the United State
Improving health literacy: Lessons from clinical ethics
November 6, 2020 (Baylor College of Medicine)
“If you were in my position, what would you do?”
I still remember the first time I witnessed a patient ask this question. I was working with a physician at a local primary care clinic. We had given the patient a new diagnosis of a heart condition, and followed the diagnosis with a series of options for medications, referrals, imaging, and further diagnostics.
For me, this experience was only the first of many to follow that highlighted the importance of promoting health literacy… More than 80 million people in the U.S. general population demonstrate low health literacy. To these individuals, new medical diagnoses and treatments represent new languages that must be learned – terminology, regimens, statistics, and specialists.
Access Improving health literacy: Lessons from clinical ethics
Research brief: Improving Health Literacy Could Prevent Nearly 1 Million Hospital Visits and Save of $25 Billion a Year
October 26, 2020 (Pew)
Findings from new UnitedHealth Group research illustrate the importance of increasing health literacy as a key component in driving better health outcomes and improving health care affordability. Seniors — who use more health care services, have more chronic conditions, and take more medications compared to other age groups — benefit from increased health literacy levels because it helps them make informed decisions and enhances their health care experience.
Access Health Literacy Key to Better Health Outcomes
ODPHP’s Health Literacy Custom List
October, 2020 (HealthyPeople2030)
Build a custom list of Healthy People 2030 objectives to use in your work. This custom list is publicly available to anyone with the link. If you add or remove an objective from the list, we’ll generate a new link.
Access ODPHP’s Health Literacy Custom List
How Health Literate Are You? Put your knowledge to the test with our latest quiz
October 14, 2020 (DHHS)
Scholars and fellows across Pew’s three biomedical research programs are working to tackle some of the biggest challenges in human health by bolstering scientific knowledge. They’re focusing on issues that affect all Americans—from infectious diseases and cancer to gut health and beyond. Take this quiz to test your health literacy skills and learn more about scientists’ promising research.
Access How Health Literate Are You? Put your knowledge to the test with our latest quiz
Organizational Health Literacy More Essential than Ever for Preventing and Managing Chronic Disease
October 14, 2020 (DHHS)
When healthcare consumers are unable find, understand, and use information to inform decisions about their care, the consequences can be dire. Because many healthcare interactions are happening remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is even greater risk for avoidable adverse outcomes due to misunderstanding.
Access Organizational Health Literacy More Essential than Ever for Preventing and Managing Chronic Disease
2020 Federal Plain Language Report Card
October 13, 2020 (CenterForPlainLanguage)
A decade ago, Congress passed the Plain Writing Act to ensure that people can understand the information they receive from federal agencies. Since 2012, the Center for Plain Language has issued a yearly report card evaluating how well agencies follow this law.
This year we evaluated 20 Executive Branch agencies, including all 15 cabinet-level departments. Agencies earned grades between A and F for both organizational compliance, covering the staffing, training, and annual reporting required by law, and writing, focusing on how easy it is to find, understand, and use information the public needs. For this year’s writing grade, we looked at two online pages from each agency.
Access 2020 Federal Plain Language Report Card
Center for Health Literacy Celebrates Health Literacy Month
October 13, 2020 (CenterForHealthLiteracy)
The UAMS Center for Health Literacy celebrates health literacy month with the Plain Pledge. The #PlainPledge is a social media campaign designed to engage health care professionals and students to pledge to use words that are easy to understand the first time someone hears or reads them. To take the pledge all you have to do is write a health-related word that you pledged to stop using in a word buster and take a selfie with it, and then share it on social media. A toolkit is available on our website.
With nearly 1 billion health-related Google searches each day, it is safe to say that many people use the internet to find health information. Unfortunately, due to the amount of misinformation on the internet some people don’t have the information they need to make appropriate health decisions for themselves. This is of significant importance given the current public health crisis with nearly 7 in 10 adults saying that searched for COVID-related information at the beginning of the pandemic. To address this need, we have created a new campaign with tips on finding health information online. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram to learn more and share with your staff and the people you serve.
Access Center for Health Literacy
Happy 10th Anniversary Plain Writing Act (Video)
October 12, 2020 (CenterForPlainLanguage)
The Plain Writing Act is turning 10 years old on October 13, 2020. The Act gave U.S. federal employees the legal oomph to turn the stereotype that government writing is overly complicated, stilted, and obtuse on its head. No longer was plain language just a good idea that could easily be tossed aside for lack of time or tacked on the end of a project as if it were synonymous with proofreading. Plain language was the law. Government now had the responsibility to ensure a reader could find, understand, and use the information it provided.
Access Happy 10th Anniversary Plain Writing Act
Level of Health Literacy Among Patients With Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
October 8, 2020 (HematologyAdvisor)
A team of investigators evaluated knowledge gaps among patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) in remission and found a range of levels of understanding of the condition. Findings were published in Hemasphere, a journal powered by the European Hematology Association.
Access Level of Health Literacy Among Patients With Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Why Health – and Pancreatic Cancer – Literacy Matter
October 8, 2020 (PancreaticCancerActionNewtwork)
Patient navigators may be a valuable resource and are available at many hospitals and cancer centers across the country. These healthcare professionals can provide one-on-one guidance for patients as they face medical, legal or financial challenges, including helping you understand treatment options. Ask your healthcare team for patient navigators available to you.
Access Why Health – and Pancreatic Cancer – Literacy Matter
4 Main Barriers Diminishing Patient Activation Efforts
October 2, 2020 (PatientEngagement)
Driving meaningful patient-provider communication and addressing patient social determinants of health needs are key to patient activation. As the medical field pushes value-based care efforts, the concept of patient activation has become more critical. After all, it’s an activated patient who is able to fend off or manage illness in between clinic visits.
Access 4 Main Barriers Diminishing Patient Activation Efforts
October is National Health Literacy Month!
October, 2020 (Health Literacy Month 2020)
Health Literacy Month is a time for organizations and individuals to promote the importance of understandable health information. This annual, worldwide, awareness-raising event has been going strong ever since Helen Osborne founded it in 1999. Learn more about the importance of making health information easy to understand and making the health care system easier to navigate by going to Health Literacy Month 2020.
Answers to Coronavirus Questions
2020 (Georgia State University)
This online booklet provides answers to frequently asked Coronavirus questions in an easy-to-read format.
Access Answers to Coronavirus Questions
CORONAVIRUS ADULT LITERACY RESOURCES
2020 (Georgia State University)
Here is a library of many high interest/low literacy Coronavirus materials. We have included materials up to a 9th-grade reading level.
The directory is categorized into easier to read materials and harder to read materials. We analyzed the materials using VisibleThread Readability software.
Access CORONAVIRUS ADULT LITERACY RESOURCES
History of Health Literacy Definitions
2020 (ODPHP)
In developing Healthy People 2030, the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2030 proposed expanding Healthy People’s view on health literacy.
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