Developing and pilot testing a comprehensive health literacy communication training for health professionals in three European countries

Many professionals have limited knowledge of how to address health literacy; they need a wider range of health literacy competencies to enhance empowerment and person-centred prevention. We evaluated whether: (1) a comprehensive health literacy training increased self-rated competencies of health professionals to address health literacy related problems and support the development of people’s autonomy and self-management abilities after training and 6–12 weeks later, (2) professionals were satisfied with the training, (3) outcomes differed for the three participating European countries. Health professionals (N = 106) participated in a multicentre pre-post intervention study in Italy, the Netherlands and Northern Ireland. The 8-hour training-intervention involved health literacy knowledge, the practice of comprehensible communication skills, shared decision-making, and enhancing self-management. Self-rated health literacy competencies and training satisfaction were assessed at baseline, immediately after training and 6-12 weeks later, and analysed by multi-level analysis. Professionals’ self-rated health literacy competencies significantly improved following training in all three countries; this increase persisted at 6-12 weeks follow-up. The strongest increase regarded professional’s skills to enhance shared-decision making and enabling self-management after training and follow-up respectively. Professionals perceived the training as relevant for practice. Competency increases seemed to be consistent across countries. In three countries, professionals’ self-rated health literacy competencies increased following this comprehensive training. These promising findings should be confirmed in a further full effect study. Implementation of this training in European education and health care may improve person-centred communication by professionals and might help to tackle health literacy related problems and to strengthen people’s abilities in achieving better health outcomes.

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Māori Research(er) in Three Poems

The Ethnographic Edge ◽

10.15663/tee.v2i1.35 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 35

Author(s):

Jacquie Kidd

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Cultural Identity ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Bell Hooks ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Third ◽

Ruth Behar ◽

Seeking Help

These three poems re-present the findings from a research project that took place in 2013 (Kidd et al. 2018, Kidd et al. 2014). The research explored what health literacy meant for Māori patients and whānau when they accessed palliative care. Through face-to-face interviews and focus groups we engaged with 81 people including patients, whānau, bereaved loved ones, support workers and health professionals. The poems are composite, written to bring some of our themes to life. The first poem is titled Aue. This is a Māori lament that aligns to English words such as ‘oh no’, or ‘arrgh’, or ‘awww’. Each stanza of the poem re-presents some of the stories we heard throughout the research. The second poem is called Tikanga. This is a Māori concept that encompasses customs, traditions and protocols. There are tikanga rituals and processes that guide all aspects of life, death, and relationships. This poem was inspired by an elderly man who explained that he would avoid seeking help from a hospice because ‘they leave tikanga at the door at those places’. His choice was to bear his pain bravely, with pride, within his cultural identity. The third poem is called ‘People Like Me’. This is an autoethnographical reflection of what I experienced as a researcher which draws on the work of scholars such as bell hooks (1984), Laurel Richardson (1997) and Ruth Behar (1996). These and many other authors encourage researchers to use frustration and anger to inform our writing; to use our tears to fuel our need to publish our research.

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Testing Consultation Recordings in a Clinical Setting With the SecondEars Smartphone App: Mixed Methods Implementation Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.15593 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Amelia Hyatt ◽

Ruby Lipson-Smith ◽

Bryce Morkunas ◽

Meinir Krishnasamy ◽

Michael Jefford ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Health Professional ◽

Clinical Setting ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Implementation Strategy ◽

Smartphone App ◽

Implementation Study ◽

Pilot Testing ◽

Effective Implementation

BACKGROUND Health care systems are increasingly looking to mobile device technologies (mobile health) to improve patient experience and health outcomes. SecondEars is a smartphone app designed to allow patients to audio-record medical consultations to improve recall, understanding, and health care self-management. Novel health interventions such as SecondEars often fail to be implemented post pilot-testing owing to inadequate user experience (UX) assessment, a key component of a comprehensive implementation strategy. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to pilot the SecondEars app within an active clinical setting to identify factors necessary for optimal implementation. Objectives were to (1) investigate patient UX and acceptability, utility, and satisfaction with the SecondEars app, and (2) understand health professional perspectives on issues, solutions, and strategies for effective implementation of SecondEars. METHODS A mixed methods implementation study was employed. Patients were invited to test the app to record consultations with participating oncology health professionals. Follow-up interviews were conducted with all participating patients (or carers) and health professionals, regarding uptake and extent of app use. Responses to the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) were also collected. Interviews were analyzed using interpretive descriptive methodology; all quantitative data were analyzed descriptively. RESULTS A total of 24 patients used SecondEars to record consultations with 10 multidisciplinary health professionals. In all, 22 of these patients used SecondEars to listen to all or part of the recording, either alone or with family. All 100% of patient participants reported in the MARS that they would use SecondEars again and recommend it to others. A total of 3 themes were identified from the patient interviews relating to the UX of SecondEars: empowerment, facilitating support in cancer care, and usability. Further, 5 themes were identified from the health professional interviews relating to implementation of SecondEars: changing hospital culture, mitigating medico-legal concerns, improving patient care, communication, and practical implementation solutions. CONCLUSIONS Data collected during pilot testing regarding recording use, UX, and health professional and patient perspectives will be important for designing an effective implementation strategy for SecondEars. Those testing the app found it useful and felt that it could facilitate the benefits of consultation recordings, along with providing patient empowerment and support. Potential issues regarding implementation were discussed, and solutions were generated. CLINICALTRIAL Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618000730202; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=373915&isClinicalTrial=False

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Preoperative bariatric surgery programme barriers facing Pacific patients in Auckland, New Zealand as perceived by health sector professionals: a qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029525 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. e029525

Author(s):

Tamasin Taylor ◽

Wendy Wrapson ◽

Ofa Dewes ◽

Nalei Taufa ◽

Richard J Siegert

Keyword(s):

Bariatric Surgery ◽

New Zealand ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Health Sector ◽

Publicly Funded ◽

Attrition Rates ◽

Pacific Health ◽

Emotional Safety ◽

Minority Ethnic

Minority ethnic patient groups typically have the highest bariatric surgery preoperative attrition rates and lowest surgery utilisation worldwide. Eligible patients of Pacific Island ethnicity (Pacific patients) in New Zealand (NZ) follow this wider trend.ObjectivesThe present study explored structural barriers contributing to Pacific patients’ disproportionately high preoperative attrition rates from publicly-funded bariatric surgery in Auckland, NZ.SettingPublicly-funded bariatric surgery programmes based in the wider Auckland area, NZ.DesignSemi-structured interviews with health sector professionals (n=21) were conducted.Data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach.ResultsTwo primary themes were identified: (1) Confidence negotiating the medical system, which included Emotional safety in clinical settings and Relating to non-Pacific health professionals and (2) Appropriate support to achieve preoperative goals, which included Cultural considerations, Practical support and Relating health information. Clinical environments and an under-representation of Pacific staff were considered to be barriers to developing emotional safety, trust and acceptance of the surgery process with patients and their families. Additionally, economic deprivation and lower health literacy impacted preoperative goals.ConclusionsHealth professionals’ accounts indicated that Pacific patients face substantial levels of disconnection in bariatric surgery programmes. Increasing representation of Pacific ethnicity by employing more Pacific health professionals in bariatric teams and finding novel solutions to implement preoperative programme components have the potential to reduce this disconnect. Addressing cultural competency of staff, increasing consultancy times and working in community settings may enable staff to better support Pacific patients and their families. Programme structures could be more accommodating to practical barriers of attending appointments, managing patients’ preoperative health goals and improving patients’ health literacy. Given that Pacific populations, and other patients from minority ethnic backgrounds living globally, also face high rates of obesity and barriers accessing bariatric surgery, our findings are likely to have broader applicability.

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Examination Of Health Literacy Levels Of Mothers: An Interdisciplinary Study With A Child Developmental Perspective

Gevher Nesibe Journal, IESDR ◽

10.46648/gnj.252 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (14) ◽

pp. 35-44

Author(s):

burçin aysu ◽

Neriman ARAL ◽

Fatih AYDOĞDU ◽

Figen GÜRSOY

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Child Development ◽

Normal Distribution ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Quantitative Data ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Education Level ◽

Assessment Process ◽

Development Professionals ◽

Development Perspective

Introduction and aim: When health literacy is considered in terms of family and especially mother, its importance increases even more. Because the health literacy of the mother and the health of the child are related to each other, the probability of the children of mothers with high health literacy to be healthy is also high. Considering this situation, it is emphasized that health literacy is an important concept for child development professionals, who are one of the health professionals working with children. Because child development professionals involve families and especially mothers in the process while working with children, health literacy can also affect mothers' involvement in the process. Determining the health literacy of mothers and handling it with a child development perspective; It is thought that it will also guide interdisciplinary research on health literacy. In this study, it is aimed to determine the health literacy of mothers and to discuss them with a child development perspective. Method: In the study, residing in Mamak district of Ankara were included 100 mothers. Mixed method was used in the research. Quantitative data were collected with the “Adult Health Literacy Scale”, and qualitative data were collected through the “Questionnaire Form”. Ethics committee approval was obtained before starting to collect data in the study. Afterwards, the participants were given detailed information about the research and consent forms were signed. The research was conducted on a voluntary basis. After the quantitative data were collected, they were processed into the SPSS package program, and whether the data showed normal distribution was examined with the kolmogrov smirnov test. Since the data showed a normal distribution, Anova and t tests, which are parametric tests, were used in the analysis of quantitative data. Qualitative data were analyzed by descriptive analysis method. Results: As a result of the research, it was found that the health literacy levels of the mothers differed significantly according to the variables of education level, education level of the spouse and having a chronic disease. It has been determined that mothers consult physicians for health issues, receive support from health professionals about their children's health problems, and explain the concept of health as physical, mental, social well-being and protection of health. Conclusions and recommendations: In line with the results obtained from the research; preparing early intervention programs as child developers to increase mothers' health literacy levels, conducting health literacy screening in clinical settings and including the assessment of mothers' health literacy in the child's assessment process, it may be recommended to plan studies involving fathers on health literacy.

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Public recognition of mental disorders and beliefs about treatment: changes in Australia over 16 years

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.bp.111.104208 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 200 (5) ◽

pp. 419-425 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Nicola J. Reavley ◽

Anthony F. Jorm

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

National Survey ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Public Recognition ◽

Similar Survey ◽

Treatment Changes

BackgroundA 1995 Australian national survey of mental health literacy showed poor recognition of disorders and beliefs about treatment that differed from those of health professionals. A similar survey carried out in 2003/4 showed some improvements over 8 years.AimsTo investigate whether recognition of mental disorders and beliefs about treatment have changed over a 16-year period.MethodA national survey of 6019 adults was carried out in 2011 using the same questions as the 1995 and 2003/4 surveys.ResultsResults showed improved recognition of depression and more positive ratings for a range of interventions, including help from mental health professionals and antidepressants.ConclusionsAlthough beliefs about effective medications and interventions have moved closer to those of health professionals since the previous surveys, there is still potential for mental health literacy gains in the areas of recognition and treatment beliefs for mental disorders. This is particularly the case for schizophrenia.

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Importance of Medication Reconciliation as a Strategy for Health Literacy

10.4018/978-1-7998-8824-6.ch013 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 224-237

Author(s):

José Manuel Feliz ◽

Marta Barroca

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Communication Skills ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Medication Reconciliation ◽

Drug Regimen ◽

Communication Model ◽

Professional Relationship ◽

Patient Health ◽

Model Technique

Health literacy depends on communication skills of health professionals. Assertiveness, clarity, and positivity (ACP) are a communication model/technique very useful to improve the patient-health professional relationship, adherence to treatment, health literacy, and quality of life. This model can be used in medication reconciliation (MR) – the identification of the most precise list of medication that a patient has been taking and should take, which requires a multidisciplinary participation and a better communication between health professionals and between them and the patient. When the guidance from healthcare professionals is clear and effective, patients and caregivers are more compliant to the recommended drug regimen, resulting in better health outcomes.

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Humor, Well-Being, and Health Literacy

10.4018/978-1-7998-8824-6.ch015 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 256-272

Author(s):

Patrícia Rodrigues ◽

Manuela Soares Rodrigues ◽

Diana Pinheiro ◽

Cecília Nunes

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Professional ◽

Therapeutic Relationship ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Well Being ◽

Clinical Environment ◽

Future Health ◽

Face To Face ◽

Difficult Situations

Health influences general well-being, and well-being affects future health. Oral health professionals report a decreased well-being and a higher burnout. This chapter measures and evaluates the perception of the health professional and the patient about factors of stress and well-being. It evaluates the strategies used to overcome the anxiety and stress that involve the meeting. Two surveys applied by questionnaire, with face-to-face and online dissemination, the first to patients and second to dentists, were done. Of the 245 patients, 46% consider themselves to be anxious. The instruments used in a clinical environment cause discomfort, and their noise is the predominant cause for this fear. Of the 306 dentists, 80% show the ability to face difficult situations. Finally, 90% have an awareness that contributes to the well-being of others. Oral health professionals should prepare themselves with techniques to develop a therapeutic relationship that is more positive, calm, and less stressful.

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Health Professionals' Communication Competences as a Light on the Patient Pathway

International Journal of Applied Research on Public Health Management ◽

10.4018/ijarphm.2021010102 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 14-29

Author(s):

Cristina Vaz de Almeida ◽

Célia Belim

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Focus Group ◽

Literature Review ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Factor Model ◽

Communication Model ◽

Patient Pathway ◽

Clinical Encounters ◽

Communication Competencies ◽

Three Factor

This article proposes a three-factor model of communication competencies inspired in literature review and evaluated and completed by Portuguese health specialists with expertise on health literacy, who were organized into four focus groups (n=25). The study includes a response to the lack of consensus in the literature as to what specific and operative competencies the health professional should perform in clinical encounters with the patients. All the participants in the focus group agreed and reinforced that an aggregated and interdependent model, which is composed of assertiveness, clarity of language, and positivity (ACP model), can be an effective health communication model.

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