Abstract
BACKGROUND: Australia’s National Statement on Health Literacy recommended integrating health literacy education into health professionals’ training, a position endorsed by the Australian Medical Association. To date, the impact of health literacy education in Australian health professions degrees is unknown. This research explored how health literacy curricula in university-level health professions degrees impact students’ conceptual knowledge.
METHODS: A qualitative questionnaire was disseminated to health professions students enrolled in two Australian universities. Questions explored students’ knowledge around signs and consequences of low health literacy, and actions that health professionals could take to help a patient with low health literacy. Responses were inductively themed and reported descriptively.
KEY FINDINGS: Ninety students across five health disciplines (Dental Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy, Podiatric Medicine and Social Work) participated. Students identified that low comprehension and poor treatment adherence were potential signs of low health literacy. Their suggested actions to assist patients included providing patient education and evaluating patient understanding. However, the depth of students’ health literacy knowledge was low; most did not acknowledge that patient education must be adjusted to the patient’s health literacy level. They also commonly evaluated patient understanding through closed questioning and their own perception of patient understanding. Overall, most suggested actions did not align with core health literacy competencies such as the teach-back method and the Universal Precautions Approach.
IMPLICATIONS: Medication misuse is a significant repercussion of lower health literacy and can worsen patients’ health outcomes. Health professional students’ conceptual knowledge of health literacy is low, so they are poorly equipped to use appropriate strategies to assess and improve patients’ medication understanding, motivation and use. Further exploration of health literacy curricula is urgently needed to upskill health professionals’ health literacy competencies to help reduce medication misuse in the community.
Answer to how consumers were involved:
This research is part of a PhD project looking to revise health literacy curricula in health professions degrees. As this study explored student knowledge, consumer involvement was not sought for this phase (although health professions students were involved in validity and piloting). The rationale for this decision was to avoid introducing bias into the questionnaire, as results from this study will contribute to data used in a gap analysis to identify consumer needs vs health professions’ capabilities. However, consumer representatives were involved in the overall research and provided expert input into the ethics application including methodology and research aims/objectives.
METHODS: A qualitative questionnaire was disseminated to health professions students enrolled in two Australian universities. Questions explored students’ knowledge around signs and consequences of low health literacy, and actions that health professionals could take to help a patient with low health literacy. Responses were inductively themed and reported descriptively.
KEY FINDINGS: Ninety students across five health disciplines (Dental Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy, Podiatric Medicine and Social Work) participated. Students identified that low comprehension and poor treatment adherence were potential signs of low health literacy. Their suggested actions to assist patients included providing patient education and evaluating patient understanding. However, the depth of students’ health literacy knowledge was low; most did not acknowledge that patient education must be adjusted to the patient’s health literacy level. They also commonly evaluated patient understanding through closed questioning and their own perception of patient understanding. Overall, most suggested actions did not align with core health literacy competencies such as the teach-back method and the Universal Precautions Approach.
IMPLICATIONS: Medication misuse is a significant repercussion of lower health literacy and can worsen patients’ health outcomes. Health professional students’ conceptual knowledge of health literacy is low, so they are poorly equipped to use appropriate strategies to assess and improve patients’ medication understanding, motivation and use. Further exploration of health literacy curricula is urgently needed to upskill health professionals’ health literacy competencies to help reduce medication misuse in the community.
Answer to how consumers were involved:
This research is part of a PhD project looking to revise health literacy curricula in health professions degrees. As this study explored student knowledge, consumer involvement was not sought for this phase (although health professions students were involved in validity and piloting). The rationale for this decision was to avoid introducing bias into the questionnaire, as results from this study will contribute to data used in a gap analysis to identify consumer needs vs health professions’ capabilities. However, consumer representatives were involved in the overall research and provided expert input into the ethics application including methodology and research aims/objectives.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 31 May 2022 |
| Event | National Medicines Symposium 2022 - Virtual, Australia Duration: 31 May 2022 → 31 May 2022 https://www.nps.org.au/nms2022 |
Conference
| Conference | National Medicines Symposium 2022 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | NMS 2022 |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| Period | 31/05/22 → 31/05/22 |
| Internet address |