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Health Literacy Among Parents of Newborn Infants

Amy Mackley1, Michael Winter, Ursula Guillen

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, Delaware (Ms Mackley and Drs Guillen, Paul, and Locke); Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mr Winter); and Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Drs Guillen, Paul, and Locke).

Advances in Neonatal Care : Official Journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses
|July 9, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Limited health literacy is prevalent in parents of infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and other hospital settings. This highlights a critical need for improved health communication strategies for these vulnerable families.

Area of Science:

  • Health Services Research
  • Patient Communication
  • Neonatal Care

Background:

  • Health literacy is crucial for informed healthcare decisions.
  • Understanding parental health literacy in the NICU is essential for effective communication.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the baseline health literacy of parents with infants in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
  • To evaluate health literacy during critical information exchange periods for NICU parents.

Main Methods:

  • The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) assessed health literacy in English-speaking NICU parents (n=121 on admission, n=59 at discharge).
  • Control groups included well-baby nursery (WBN) and prenatal (PRE) parents.
  • Suspected limited health literacy (SLHL) was defined as an NVS score of 3 or less.

Main Results:

  • 43% of NICU parents and 32% at discharge exhibited SLHL.
  • SLHL rates were 25% for WBN and 58% for PRE parents.
  • Parental demographics did not correlate with health literacy; nurse assessments of comprehension did not align with objective measures.

Conclusions:

  • Limited health literacy is common in NICU, WBN, and PRE settings during complex health discussions.
  • NICU providers may inaccurately assess parental health literacy.
  • Improved health communication methods and further research in diverse populations are necessary.
Abstract

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