Health Literacy Education in Health Professions Schools: An Integrative Review

Area of Science:

• Health Communication
• Medical Education
• Health Literacy Research

Background:

• A significant portion of the American population possesses inadequate health literacy skills.
• The Institute of Medicine's report highlights the need for health professionals to enhance communication with patients experiencing low health literacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing literature on educational interventions aimed at improving health literacy among healthcare professionals.
• To identify effective teaching strategies and evaluation methods for health literacy training.

Main Methods:

• An integrative review methodology was employed.
• Six major electronic databases (CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, Web of Science) were systematically searched.

Main Results:

• Nine studies met the inclusion criteria for the review.
• Educational interventions predominantly utilized multimodal strategies, combining didactic content with active learning.
• While classroom evaluation methods were common, only one study assessed actual student health literacy skills.

Conclusions:

• Further research should define optimal placement for health literacy education within curricula.
• Developing and validating instruments for assessing students' health literacy skills is essential.
• Rigorous psychometric evaluation of assessment tools and fostering interprofessional learning opportunities are recommended.