P203 Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Health Literacy and Related Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background The goal to address health literacy issues and in turn improve health related outcomes has increased; however, evidence-based studies divulging the aspects that strengthen health literacy interventions in underserved populations is limited. Objective The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the factors that contribute to efficacy of health literacy interventions based on studies that were published between 2012 and 2018. Study Design, Settings, Participants Following the PRISMA guidelines, relevant studies were obtained through Medline, PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus databases. Five authors screened and determined the quality of the studies using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system and extracted the data from the articles. Measurable Outcome/Analysis A total of ten studies were reviewed. Results Factors identified as important contributors to efficacy of health literacy interventions included: comprehensive baseline assessment, tailoring messages based on the assessment, distinguishing health knowledge versus health literacy, applying recommended strategies for health literacy and affording adequate duration and dosage for the intervention. Conclusions Based on this review, studies that were successful in achieving their health literacy goals conducted comprehensive baseline interventions, utilized the results of the assessment to inform the intervention, and employed best practices for health literacy beyond the use of plain language. Most importantly, they allocated adequate dosage and duration as a commitment to change the desired behaviour. Funding None.