Abstract
BackgroundAdult education institutions have been identified as potential settings to improve health literacy and address the health inequalities that stem from limited health literacy. However, few health literacy interventions have been tested in this setting.MethodsFeasibility study for an RCT of the UK Skilled for Health Program adapted for implementation in Australian adult education settings. Implementation at two sites with mixed methods evaluation to examine feasibility, test for change in participants’ health literacy and pilot test health literacy measures.ResultsTwenty-two socially disadvantaged adults with low literacy participated in the program and received 80–90 hours of health literacy instruction. The program received institutional support from Australia’s largest provider of vocational education and training and was feasible to implement (100 % participation; >90 % completion; high teacher satisfaction). Quantitative results showed improvements in participants’ health literacy skills and confidence, with no change on a generic measure of health literacy. Qualitative analysis identified positive student and teacher engagement with course content and self-reported improvements in health knowledge, attitudes, and communication with healthcare professionals.ConclusionsPositive feasibility results support a larger RCT of the health literacy program. However, there is a need to identify better, multi-dimensional measures of health literacy in order to be able to quantify change in a larger trial. This feasibility study represents the first step in providing the high quality evidence needed to understand the way in which health literacy can be improved and health inequalities reduced through Australian adult education programs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12939-016-0373-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
1.2 Baseline assessment3.1 Taking temperaturea3.2 Checking medicine labelsa5.2 Dosage and timingStaying Healthy Teacher Manual 22.1 Getting involveda 2.2 Food groups 4.1 Food labelsa6.1 Nutritional informationa7.1 Health workers8.1 Food temperature safety
The key aims of this study were to: (a) assess the feasibility of delivering a large-scale health literacy program within Australian adult education for socially disadvantaged adults, (b) examine the potential impact a program of this kind could have on health knowledge and skills, health literacy, and perceived confidence in performing health tasks, (c) pilot measures of health literacy and health skills in this setting in preparation for the main trial
This paper reports on the quantitative and qualitative findings of the study in order to evaluate these key feasibility aims
Summary
1.2 Baseline assessment3.1 Taking temperaturea3.2 Checking medicine labelsa5.2 Dosage and timingStaying Healthy Teacher Manual 22.1 Getting involveda 2.2 Food groups 4.1 Food labelsa6.1 Nutritional informationa7.1 Health workers8.1 Food temperature safety. Up to 60 % of Australian adults lack basic health literacy skills to understand health-related materials, such as instructions on a medicine label [3]. Adult education institutions offer programs for adult learners who often have no postsecondary education. In Australia and other countries, adult education institutions often have a national network They provide services to populations of socially-disadvantaged individuals who are likely to lack health literacy skills [4], but express a desire to learn about health [15, 16]. Given appropriate resources and infrastructure, adult education organisations can provide adult learners with formal exposure to health knowledge and practices, and build the skills required to obtain and use health information [18]
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