A pilot project to increase health literacy among youth from seasonal farmworker families in rural eastern North Carolina: a qualitative exploration of implementation and impact

Objective: There are substantial health inequalities for seasonal agricultural workers and their families in the United States. One identified inequality is in health literacy. The authors explored the implementation and impact of connecting youth from seasonal farmworker families who participated in a leadership and college pipeline program with Internet access by providing a tablet with a paid cellular data plan and university library–based health literacy training.Methods: With the support of a National Network of Libraries of Medicine Health Information Outreach Award, we conducted a qualitative, utilization-focused evaluation by conducting semi-structured interviews from December 2017 through February 2018 with middle and high school age participants in the program (n=10). After parental consent and youth assent, we recorded interviews with participants at program activity locations or in their homes. We then utilized inductive thematic analysis with 2 primary coders.Results: We identified four themes: (1) having access to the Internet can be transformative, (2) access resulted in increased knowledge of and interest in one’s own and others’ health, (3) “Google” is the norm, and (4) participant training increased self-efficacy to determine credible sources and resources.Conclusion: Providing Internet access and iPads was possible to implement and resulted in increased utilization of health information. The combination of Internet access with training on information literacy was a key factor in achieving these positive outcomes. The findings suggest the importance of ensuring equitable access to the Internet in efforts to improve educational and health outcomes for seasonal farmworkers and their families.

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What Do Childcare Providers Know about Environmental Influences on Children’s Health? Implications for Environmental Health Literacy Efforts

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105489 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5489

Author(s):

Brenda D. Koester ◽

Stephanie Sloane ◽

Elinor M. Fujimoto ◽

Barbara H. Fiese ◽

Leona Yi-Fan Su

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Environmental Health ◽

Environmental Influences ◽

Significant Risk ◽

The United States ◽

Children's Health ◽

Children’S Health ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Environmental Health Literacy ◽

Childcare Providers

Children are uniquely vulnerable to toxicant exposures in their environment, which can have long-lasting impacts on their health. Childcare providers are an important population to target for environmental health literacy, as most children in the United States under five years of age spend a significant number of waking hours in non-parental care. There is an increasing body of evidence that children are exposed to toxicants in the childcare environment, and yet little is known about what childcare providers know about environmental influences on the health of children in their care. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 36 home- and center-based Illinois childcare providers to better understand their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors as they relate to environmental influences on children’s health. We found that the majority of providers had a low level of understanding of potential sources of exposure in the childcare environment, and they did not feel that environmental exposures posed a significant risk to children. Future efforts to increase environmental health literacy should focus on raising awareness and knowledge of environmental health issues for childcare providers before addressing ways that providers can reduce or prevent toxicant exposures to children in their care.

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An examination of the quality of late-life depression websites on the Internet (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.36177 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Teaghan Pryor ◽

Kristin Reynolds ◽

Paige Kirby ◽

Matthew Bernstein

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Late Life ◽

The Internet ◽

Late Life Depression ◽

Mental Health Information

BACKGROUND The Internet can increase the accessibility of mental health information and improve the mental health literacy of older adults. The quality of mental health information on the Internet can be inaccurate or biased, leading to misinformation OBJECTIVE This study’s objectives were to evaluate the quality, usability, and readability of websites providing information concerning depression in later life. METHODS Websites were identified through a Google search, and evaluated by assessing quality (DISCERN), usability (Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool; PEMAT) and readability (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook; SMOG). RESULTS The overall quality of late-life depression websites (N = 19) was moderate, usability was low, and readability was poor. No significant relationship was found between quality and readability of websites. CONCLUSIONS Websites can be improved by enhancing information quality, usability, and readability related to late-life depression. The use of high-quality websites may improve mental health literacy and shared treatment decision-making for older adults.

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Norwel Equipment Co. Limited Partnership (L.P.) Internet Upgrade

Cases on Information Technology Series - Annals of Cases on Information Technology ◽

10.4018/978-1-61520-592-9.ch013 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 179-195

Author(s):

Kenneth R. Walsh

Keyword(s):

Internet Access ◽

The United States ◽

Construction Equipment ◽

The Internet ◽

Limited Partnership ◽

Computing Services ◽

Heavy Equipment ◽

Internet Connections ◽

E Mail

Norwel Equipment Co. Limited Partnership (L.P.) is a Louisiana business retailer of construction equipment specializing in John Deere heavy-equipment and has secured exclusive John Deere rights for most of the State of Louisiana. Founded in 1972, Norwel is the sixth largest John Deere construction equipment dealer in the United States. This case illustrates business and technology issues facing Norwel. In mid-1999, the October 1st deadline for John Deeres requirement to communicate by e-mail was approaching and the response time of the Norwels primary computers system, an AS/400, was increasing to the point where users were not satisfied with performance. Also users were requesting new computing services such as e-mail, document sharing, and Internet access. For example, the Parts Operations Manger suggested selling parts online and the Manager of the Used Equipment Division suggest supporting the sales staff through Internet connections. Managing Partner, Richard Hevey decided an upgrade to the networks and a connection to the Internet were needed. He is faced with both short-term and long-term decisions about Norwels infrastructure.

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The Internet, Health Information, and Managing Health

Selected Readings on the Human Side of Information Technology ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-088-2.ch017 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 297-316

Author(s):

Christopher G. Reddick

Keyword(s):

Public Opinion ◽

Health Information ◽

Internet Access ◽

The Elderly ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Health Information ◽

Kaiser Family Foundation ◽

Internet Health Information ◽

Positive Feelings ◽

Use Of The Internet

This article examines the use of the Internet for gathering health information by boomers and seniors. This study attempts to determine whether online health seekers (individuals that have Internet access and have searched for health information online) have changed their behaviors from the information they found online. Essentially, has online health information helped them to manage their health more effectively? This research analyzes the Kaiser Family Foundation e-Health and the Elderly public opinion dataset of access by boomers and seniors to online health information. The major results indicate that boomers marginally use online health information more than seniors for the management of their health. The most significant results indicated that boomers and seniors who are more aware and have positive feelings toward online health information would use it more to manage their health.

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The Internet, Health Information, and Managing Health

Medical Informatics ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-050-9.ch114 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1495-1513

Author(s):

Christopher G. Reddick

Keyword(s):

Public Opinion ◽

Health Information ◽

Internet Access ◽

The Elderly ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Health Information ◽

Kaiser Family Foundation ◽

Internet Health Information ◽

Positive Feelings ◽

Use Of The Internet

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Exploring Health Literacy in Individuals with Alcohol Addiction: A Mixed Methods Clinical Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17186728 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (18) ◽

pp. 6728

Author(s):

Gabriela Rolova ◽

Beata Gavurova ◽

Benjamin Petruzelka

Keyword(s):

Clinical Practice ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Addiction Treatment ◽

Alcohol Addiction ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Literacy Survey ◽

Health Related

This mixed methods research paper explores health literacy (HL) in individuals with alcohol addiction by using the 47-item version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) and semi-structured interviews concerning health-related competencies (access, understand, appraise, and apply health information), and determines the limitations of the HLS-EU-Q47 when used under specific conditions of clinical practice. The questionnaire survey and the interviews were conducted with individuals of different health literacy levels who were undergoing inpatient alcohol addiction treatment. The findings indicate that individuals with alcohol addiction might require different types of health information according to their health literacy level in terms of quantity and quality of information to recover from alcohol addiction and improve their overall health. The implications for the clinical practice of addiction treatment as well as recommendations for national and regional policy are also discussed.

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A mapping analytic approach to trace development of multidisciplinary research field

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management ◽

10.1108/jstpm-09-2014-0036 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 98-113 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xi Zhang ◽

Xiangda Yan ◽

Patricia Ordóñez de Pablos ◽

jinghuai She ◽

Yang Gao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Domain Knowledge ◽

Early Stage ◽

Research Field ◽

Future Research ◽

The Internet ◽

Content Type ◽

The Future ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper aims to provide clear domain knowledge and recent progresses on electronic healthcare (e-healthcare). Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the authors use citation analysis to describe the trends of study on e-health with the help of CiteSpace II, a software for visualizing citation-based analysis. By analyzing the 2,752 publications and their citation data in ISI database, the authors proposed renewable figures and tables on ranking critical people, institutes, keywords and journals. Through the most influential articles given by CiteSpace, the authors can grasp the main direction in e-health researches. Furthermore, the authors analyzed the literature at e-health literacy as a case, to better understand the development of research viewpoints. Findings – Through the analysis, the authors found that e-health is a multi-disciplinary research field and the major research about it has changed. During the early stage, health information quality on the Internet dominates. Gradually, the role of information technology (IT) becomes more important. The authors also found that some researchers, recently, have proposed the effects of IT on e-health literacy which can then improve the ability to use health information on the Internet. Research limitations/implications – This paper has some research limitations, such as using an ISI database with most English publications. The future research may be conducted for collecting local publications data in China. It also has some implications. Based on the results, the authors claimed that IT may significantly improve people’s healthcare variance, e.g. e-health literacy. It is necessary to build new IT-based healthcare theories. Practical implications – This paper also has some practical implications. Practitioners and institute may easily come to know which are the hot topics, top institutes and tendencies in the e-healthcare field. Social implications – This paper may help practitioners to find common interests with other institutions and societies. Originality/value – This paper reported the status and trend of research in this field visually, and the result will help researchers to do more in-depth research in the future.

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Literacy, Numeracy, and Health Information Seeking Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States

Journal of Aging and Health ◽

10.1177/0898264318800918 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 32 (1-2) ◽

pp. 33-41 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Takashi Yamashita ◽

Anthony R. Bardo ◽

Darren Liu ◽

Phyllis A. Cummins

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Older Adults ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Information Seeking ◽

The United States ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Care Providers ◽

Nationally Representative

Objectives: Health literacy is often viewed as an essential skill set for successfully seeking health information to make health-related decisions. However, this general understanding has yet to be established with the use of nationally representative data. The objective of this study was to provide the first nationally representative empirical evidence that links health information seeking behaviors with health literacy among middle-age to older adults in the United States. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2012/2014 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Literacy (PIAAC). Our analytic sample is representative of adults age 45 to 74 years ( N = 2,989). Results: Distinct components of health literacy (i.e., literacy and numeracy) were uniquely associated with the use of different health information sources (e.g., health professionals, the Internet, television). Discussion: Findings should be useful for government agencies and health care providers interested in targeting health communications, as well as researchers who focus on health disparities.

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Import substitution policies in the hospitality industry: focus on domestic producer

Services in Russia and abroad ◽

10.12737/14399 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 103-110

Author(s):

Мария Мерзлова ◽

Mariya Merzlova

Keyword(s):

Hospitality Industry ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Import Substitution ◽

Pilot Project ◽

The United States ◽

Government Support ◽

The Internet ◽

Small Farmers ◽

Support Measures ◽

Domestic Producer

The article discusses the new conditions for the functioning of the hotel enterprises, due to the state policy of import substitution, which is carried out under the influence of economic sanctions on European countries and the United States against Russia. Focusing on domestic producers can have a positive impact on the efficiency the hospitality industry through the development of direct cooperation links. The most urgent needs of the hotel, the satisfaction of which by domestic producers faced with certain organizational and financial problems, require the development of public-private partnership. Small farmers are regarded as the main suppliers of foods to hotels in the regions. The necessity of government support measures for farmers as key strategic partners of the hotel enterprises in the regions is justified. The experience of the pilot project for the integration of farmers in the Internet space, which provides rapid remote communication of small farmers and hotel companies in the process of cooperation, is represented.

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Relationship Between Levels of Digital Health Literacy Based on the Taiwan Digital Health Literacy Assessment and Accurate Assessment of Online Health Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.19767 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Peggy Liu ◽

Ling-Ling Yeh ◽

Jiun-Yi Wang ◽

Shao-Ti Lee

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

High Risk ◽

Health Information ◽

Digital Health ◽

Characteristic Curve ◽

Risk Groups ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Health Information ◽

Literacy Assessment ◽

Information Bank

BACKGROUND The increasing amount of health information available on the internet makes it more important than ever to ensure that people can judge the accuracy of this information to prevent them from harm. It may be possible for platforms to set up protective mechanisms depending on the level of digital health literacy and thereby to decrease the possibility of harm by the misuse of health information. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to create an instrument for digital health literacy assessment (DHLA) based on the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) to categorize participants by level of risk of misinterpreting health information into high-, medium-, and low-risk groups. METHODS This study developed a DHLA and constructed an online health information bank with correct and incorrect answers. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to detect the cutoff value of DHLA, using 5 items randomly selected from the online health information bank, to classify users as being at low, medium, or high risk of misjudging health information. This provided information about the relationship between risk group for digital health literacy and accurate judgement of online health information. The study participants were Taiwanese residents aged 20 years and older. Snowball sampling was used, and internet questionnaires were anonymously completed by the participants. The reliability and validity of DHLA were examined. Logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with risk groups from the DHLA. RESULTS This study collected 1588 valid questionnaires. The online health information bank included 310 items of health information, which were classified as easy (147 items), moderate (122 items), or difficult (41 items) based on the difficulty of judging their accuracy. The internal consistency of DHLA was satisfactory (α=.87), and factor analysis of construct validity found three factors, accounting for 76.6% of the variance. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis found 106 people at high risk, 1368 at medium risk, and 114 at low risk of misinterpreting health information. Of the original grouped cases, 89.6% were correctly classified after discriminate analysis. Logistic regression analysis showed that participants with a high risk of misjudging health information had a lower education level, lower income, and poorer health. They also rarely or never browsed the internet. These differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The DHLA score could distinguish those at low, medium, and high risk of misjudging health information on the internet. Health information platforms on the internet could consider incorporating DHLA to set up a mechanism to protect users from misusing health information and avoid harming their health.

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