Health literacy programs for older adults: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Older adults make up the fastest growing age group in North America. This has demanded increased attention in supporting the health and well-being of this population and, in particular, the role of health information in promoting the health and well-being of older adults. Increased availability and accessibility of information as well as a greater emphasis on self-management and care have raised concern about an individual's health literacy skills. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review using explicit systematic literature review methodology. This includes a detailed online search process of recent publications on programs that focus on health literacy in the older adult population using the Rychetnik et al. guiding questions and the Population Intervention Comparison Outcome framework. The search yielded nine articles describing functional (n = 4) and interactive (n = 5) health literacy programs. Overall, the selected articles demonstrated positive outcomes in supporting the health literacy skills of older adults. However, there are limitations in study designs and evaluation measures and outcomes of the programs remain unknown in demonstrating long-term impact in supporting health literacy skills. Further high quality studies with clear and strong research methodology are needed to develop and evaluate evidence-based interactive health literacy programs targeted specifically to older adults.