Long-Term Effects of a Health Literacy Curriculum for Medical Students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Literacy Research
• Communication Skills Training

Background:

• Short-term benefits of health literacy curricula for healthcare professionals are documented.
• Long-term follow-up studies on health literacy training for medical students are lacking.
• Effective communication with patients with low health literacy is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the immediate and 12-month impact of health literacy training on medical students' knowledge and intended behaviors.
• To evaluate the effect of a follow-up training session one year after the initial intervention.
• To determine the longevity of perceived knowledge and behavioral changes in health literacy.

Main Methods:

• Pre- and post-training assessments of self-perceived knowledge and behavior were conducted.
• A health literacy training was delivered to first-year medical students.
• A 12-month follow-up assessment and a subsequent training session were implemented.

Main Results:

• Initial training significantly improved 10 of 12 knowledge and behavior items.
• At 12-month follow-up, 8 of 10 improvements regressed to baseline levels.
• A second training session led to significant improvements again, with more students acknowledging overestimation of initial understanding.

Conclusions:

• Improvements in medical students' health literacy knowledge and planned behaviors from a single training did not persist long-term.
• Longitudinal or integrated educational formats are recommended over one-time lectures for sustained impact.
• Medical education should incorporate ongoing strategies to enhance health literacy skills.