Knowledge and experiences about health literacy needs and assessment among fourth year nursing students in Thailand Sinsakchon Aunprom-me, MPH, Ph.D. (Target Journal: International Journal of Nursing Studies)

Topic Nurses’ role in promoting health to people with various backgrounds esp. ones with limited health literacy –Health professionals’ knowledge and experiences in health literacy enhance quality of care Preparation from nursing institutions yield confidence as well as skills when they enter nursing career No prior study in health literacy knowledge and experiences among health professionals from Thailand

Health literacy limitations among the general population, particularly lower socio-economic groups, is recognized as a significant barrier to healthy behavior. With this recognition, medical and nursing educators are increasingly calling for changes in curriculum that incorporate health literacy training and experience. There are currently some practices of health literacy at a certain degree. Understanding in current situations would guide us to interventions such as undergraduate curriculum and continuing education. Puzzle (Problem) Definition

Research Question (s) What are the levels of knowledge in health literacy among fourth year nursing students in Thailand? What are the experiences among fourth year nursing students in promoting health literacy and using appropriate health literacy techniques during their nursing education? In other words: Are nurses prepared enough to work with patients and families with limited health literacy skills?

What will we learn? Whether knowledge and experiences in health literacy provided in nursing education are adequate Nursing curriculum development and continuous training in HL necessary?

Background Health literacy is defined as “the ability to read, understand, and use health information to make appropriate health care decisions and follow instructions for treatment. (Weiss, 2003)” It is associated with clients’ and families’ ability to maintain their health as well as with their health outcomes.

Nurses are the frontiers in providing care for peoples, promoting good health as well as empowering people so they can better take care of their health. Therefore, the knowledge and skills in health literacy among nurses are crucial. Nurses’ abilities in performing appropriate care comes from their former training in nursing schools as well as their continuing education after graduation. It is important to explore whether their nursing curriculum provide essential knowledge and experiences in health literacy. Background

Cormier (2006) did a study in Louisiana state schools of nursing –senior nursing students have limited knowledge in screening and developing appropriate written materials. –Limited experiences in screening, assessing reading level and preparing written materials for patients Background

Methodology Cross-sectional survey study with 4 th year nursing students from 13 nursing colleges under MOPH (890 replied) Use Health Literacy Knowledge and Experience Survey (HL-KES) developed by Cormier in 2006

More details on HL-KES 3 sections HL Knowledge (30 MC items) –Basic facts –Consequences associated with low HL –HL screening –Guidelines for written health care materials –Evaluation of HL interventions HL Experiences (13 rating-scale items) Personal information

Findings HL Knowledge –Average score was 13.8 / 30 (46%) –Highest in basic fact section (56%) –Lowest in HL screening (33%) HL Experiences –Experiences in average level (2.4 / 4.0) –Half of students haven’t heard the term before –Used computer-assisted media less frequently while evaluated the cultural appropriateness most frequently

Conclusion Similar results with the U.S. study Health literacy issues need to be introduced into nursing curriculum as well as continuing (short-course) training Need further research in the existing “informal” knowledge in this area before curriculum development.