Ensuring that teachers have high mental health literacy (MHL) is paramount, particularly because the prevalence rate for mental illness among children and adolescents is 10-20% (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2013). Currently, there are few programs designed to increase the MHL of teachers, and the research base examining these is scant. As a result, more research is required to find effective methods of improving MHL among teachers. The current study explored the influence of a new, interactive MHL learning module on the MHL levels of B.Ed. candidates. A questionnaire largely adapted from existing measures was developed and factor analysis was conducted. Pre- and post-module MHL scores were analyzed using descriptive approaches and a repeated-measures MANOVA. Results indicate that pre-service teachers have high knowledge and non-stigmatizing beliefs in relation to MHL which did not change post- module completion; self-efficacy levels did show a small, non-significant increase.

Many individuals with low health literacy (LHL) and limited English proficiency (LEP) have poor experiences consuming health information: they find it unengaging, unappealing, difficult to understand, and un-motivating. These negative experiences may blunt, or even sabotage, the desired effect of communicating health information: to increase engagement and ability to manage health. It is imperative to find solutions to improve poor experiences of health information, because such experiences heighten vulnerability to poor health outcomes. We aimed to address a gap in the health literacy literature by studying the patient experience of health information and how visualization might be able to help. Our four studies involved patients presented with health information in various settings to improve understanding and management of their care. We used semi-structured interviews and observations to understand patient experiences of receiving personal health information in the hospital. We learned that the return of results is desired and has the potential to promote patient engagement with care. We developed a novel method to analyze LHL, LEP caregiver experience and information needs in the community setting. The novel method increased our understanding and ability to detect differences in experiences within the same ethnic group, based on language preference. Next, we interrogated the literature for a solution to easily communicate complicated health information to disinterested, LHL, LEP individuals. We found that visualizations can help increase interest, comprehension, support faster communication, and even help broach difficult topics. Finally, our findings were used to develop a novel prototype to improve experiences of consuming genetic risk information for those having LHL and LEP. Unlike traditional approaches that focus on communicating risk numbers and probabilities, the novelty of our approach was that we focused on communicating risk as a feeling. We achieved this by leveraging vicarious learning via real patient experience materials (e.g., quotes, videos) and empathy with an emotive relational agent. We evaluated and compared the prototype to standard methods of communicating genetic risk information via a mixed methods approach that included surveys, questionnaires, interviews, observations, image analysis, and facial analysis. Main outcome variables were perceived ease of understanding, comprehension, emotional response, and motivation. We employed t-tests, ANOVAs, directed content analysis, correlation, regression, hierarchical clustering, and Chernoff faces to answer the research questions. All variables were significantly different for the prototype compared to the standard method, except for motivation as rated by 32 LHL, LEP community members. Findings revealed that LHL, LEP individuals have difficulty appropriately processing standard methods of communicating risk information, such as risk numbers supported by visual aids. Further, appealing visuals may inappropriately increase confidence in understanding of information. Visualizations affected emotions, which influenced perceived ease of understanding and motivation to take action on the information. Comprehension scores did not correlate with perceived ease of understanding, emotional response, or motivation. Findings suggest that providing access to comprehensible health information may not be enough to motivate patients to engage with their care; providing a good experience (taking into account the aesthetics and emotional response) of health information may be essential to optimize outcomes.

No description available.

Low health literacy levels put patients at greater risk for poorer compliance and access to care, which leads to worse patient outcomes. Nurses must understand health literacy to improve health literacy for their medical surgical patient population. It is necessary for a formal education program on this topic. The purpose of this project was to increase medical surgical nurses' awareness and knowledge of the importance of health literacy and to introduce the REALM-SF tool to assess a patient's literacy level, allowing a nurse to better individualize the education provided to the patient. Lewin's change management theory was key in the development of this project with attention to his three stages of change acceptance. The practice focus question was, "Will medical-surgical nurses show an improvement in their knowledge of health literacy when comparing measurement of knowledge pre education and immediately post education?" The HL-SF12 for registered nurses tool was used to collect data for this project as a pre- and post-implementation knowledge assessment. Thirty-one medical surgical nurses participated in this education session. The results of this analysis show that there is a significant gap in medical-surgical nurses' knowledge of health literacy. However, all participates showed a significant increase in their scores from pretest to posttest after the educational module, which signifies that this education program was successful. Assessing health literacy is a major step towards improving the delivery of patient education by nurses and assists the patients in the management of their medical problems. All of this leads to positive social change by making sure that the education provided by the nurses is understood and received well by the patients and their families.

Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients are subject to low patient health outcomes due to limited health literacy. Cultural and linguistic barriers prohibit the obtainment and comprehension of health information and services. This systematic review will present the complications of healthcare experienced by LEP patients and will provide an analysis of interventions and policies that will be a gateway to better health outcomes for the LEP patient population.

Although the prevalence of mental pathology is high, public’s mental health literacy (i.e. knowledge about mental disorders) has not been examined to a great extent. The main purpose of this study was to examine mental health literacy concerning depression and schizophrenia in a setting of adolescents in Sweden. A secondary aim was to explore stigmatizing attitudes towards mentally ill and levels of altruism among adolescents regarding help-seeking behavior. The present study employed qualitative methodology and data were collected through vignettes. A total of 426 high school students living in Stockholm formed the respondents and content analysis showed that among teenagers recognition of both depression and schizophrenia was poor. Moreover, friends and informal sources of help were regarded as best types of help. Furthermore, results indicated stigmatizing beliefs about mental disorders and low levels of altruistic behavior. These results are supported from other similar studies and suggest awareness campaigns to increase mental health literacy among adolescents. Recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Hälsolitteracitet innebär patientens kognitiva förmåga att förstå och tillämpa hälsoinformation. Enligt Hendersons omvårdnadsteori bör sjuksköterskan förstå och assistera när patienten inte har tillräcklig motivation, kunskap eller styrka för att självständigt uppnå hälsa. Syftet med studien var att beskriva distriktsköterskans förhållningssätt till hälsolitteracitet i bemötandet av patienter på en vårdcentral. Studien är en kvalitativ intervjustudie med induktiv ansats. Fem distriktssköterskor från tre olika vårdcentraler intervjuades utifrån en intervjuguide med semi-strukturerade frågor. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys genomfördes och ett övergripande tema framkom; Distriktssköterskan skapar delaktighet hos patienten genom ett engagerat förhållningssätt till hälsolitteracitet. Tre kategorier identifierades; strävar efter förtroendefulla relationer, anpassar sig efter patienten samt uppmuntrar till empowerment. Distriktssköterskorna menade att de strävade efter att skapa insikt och motivation hos patienterna för att åstadkomma delaktighet. Ingen av distriktssköterskorna i denna pilotstudie hade hört talas om begreppet hälsolitteracitet. Trots detta beskrev de att de arbetade utifrån en förståelse att patienterna hade olika möjligheter att förstå och tillämpa informationen. Pilotstudien kan ligga till grund för en fullskalig studie om distriktssköterskors förhållningssätt till hälsolitteracitet, anpassad till svensk hälso- och sjukvård. / Health literacy is the patient's cognitive ability to understand and apply health information. According to Henderson's nursing theory the nurse should understand and assist the patient who does not have sufficient motivation, knowledge or strength to independently achieve health. The aim of this study was to identify the district nurses' attitude to health literacy in their treatment of patients at a medical centre. The study was a qualitative interview study with an inductive approach. Five district nurses from three medical centres were interviewed using an interview guide based on semi-structured questions. A qualitative content analysis was performed and revealed the following theme; the district nurse encouraged patient participation through an approachable and committed approach to health literacy. Three categories were identified; strive for trust, adapt to the patient and encourage empowerment. The district nurses described that they strived to create insight and motivation to encourage them to participate in their own health care. None of the district nurses in this pilot study were familiar with the term health literacy. Despite this, they described that they understood that their patients had differing abilities in understanding and applying information. This pilot study offers a basis for a full-scale study of district nurses application of health literacy, customized to Swedish health care system.

Health communications providers strive to increase the health literacy of patients and care takers. Basic health literacy is a measure of a person’s ability to understand and act according to appropriate health information. The rise in the number of people attaining basic health literacy increases the amount of positive health behavior in the aggregate. Therefore, health communication providers can create a direct impact on tangible health results in a given population. The introduction of new technology has led to new ways of distributing health information, specifically through online media. Along with a new method of communication comes a need for a new way of evaluating it. As new media emerge and proliferate in the marketplace, different populations’ levels of health literacy become shaped in previously unpredictable ways. Current research suggests that significant differences in wealth and pervasive cultural features account for why distinct populations respond to these developments differently. Thus, the task of determining health communications’ success overall just got harder. It is now necessary to reassess health communications providers’ efficiency and effectiveness with regard to particular minority populations such as Hispanic/Latino adults. Throughout this paper, I refer to the Hispanic/Latino population’s unique characteristics as a case study for the derivation and application of universal health communication values. Thus, the purpose of this report is, based on current findings, to expose the primary values that describe and prescribe the efficacy of online health communication geared towards minorities such as Hispanic/Latino adults residing in the United States. This report concludes that the effectiveness of health information online is a function of three elements: access, quality, and communication strategy. Access represents the extent to which the intended user can search online for the sought-after health information, employ techniques to locate the intended information, and benefit from the search and comprehend the content. The quality prong of the health related Web content represents the useful indicia of accuracy and completeness of the information provided. The first two factors are a sine qua non for a robust health communication campaign. The communication strategy determines the audience reach and the relevance of the health message; both of which ultimately are the driving force for achieving lasting health behavior modification. Health information providers must periodically assess their services along the model’s benchmarks in order to achieve the highest possible levels of health literacy in their target populations and overall. Providers may engage in self-evaluation in order to gauge their own effectiveness, make improvements wherever necessary, and thereby ensure continued conformity to the aforementioned values. If/when these market players are unable or unwilling to adhere to this rubric, the public sphere may need to enforce it as a last resort. This paper does not investigate the merits of either public or private systems of governance; no matter how compliance is achieved, the modern promotion of optimal health literacy in minority communities (and hence, overall) requires that all three elements comprise a new, uniform model for online health communication initiatives. / text

Receiving health information and implementing recommendations are important factors for household development. However, it is not uncommon for people in the developing world to disregard information and not change their behaviour. The objective of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how context and knowledge determine health practices and behaviour in order to provide an explanation for why people do not follow health recommendations that would improve their health and the development of their household. In a field study in the Ribáuè district of Mozambique, an ethnographic approach using semi-structured interviews with individuals on the household level as well as stakeholders from both the public and private sector was used to gather the data. New institutionalist theory and health literacy were applied to structure the findings, analyze the data, and provide an explanation for the phenomenon described above. Conclusions from the study demonstrate that individuals must go through a process of obtaining, understanding, and evaluating health information before implementing recommendations. However, the socio-economic, and cultural circumstances in which a person lives can inhibit this process. Furthermore, regulative, normative, and cultural- cognitive underpinnings have proven to both resist and influence changes in health behaviour.

The process of creating and using participatory photonovels can empower immigrant ESL speaking women and also act as a tool to educate these women about a specific health topic. This was a qualitative case study that was conducted at an immigrant society in an urban center in British Columbia. The ESL speaking immigrant women in this study created a photonovel called From Junk Food to Healthy Eating: Tanya’s Journey to a Better Life. The findings of this research reveal some of the health experiences of ESL speaking immigrant women in Canada. The results also contribute to the growing body of knowledge that discusses effective or ineffective means to educate ESL speakers about health by improving their health literacy. Most notably, however, the photonovel project engaged the women in an educational process that raised their critical consciousness.