Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 28, 2026

TBase - an Integrated Electronic Health Record and Research Database for Kidney Transplant Recipients
Published on: April 13, 2021
Health literacy research in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: an integrative review
Ludmilla F Wikkeling-Scott1, Rahma Jamea Yousef Ajja2, Robert Vann Rikard3
1Department of Health Sciences, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Ludmilla.scott@zu.ac.ae.
Objectives:
This integrative review examines health literacy research in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) and describes: (1) assessments and screening tools used to measure levels of health literacy, and (2) the focus, methods, and findings of health literacy research in the region.
Methods:
A total of 246 records were identified through a systematic search of online databases from 1950 to 2017, to include: ProQuest Middle East and Africa, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Academic OneFile, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The final sample included 49 full-text articles.
Results:
This research described 7 studies which used existing or new health literacy measures. Levels of health literacy in the EMR were similar to those for Europe and the United States. Low health literacy in EMR countries was more prevalent among females than males. The relationships between health literacy and knowledge, behavior and health outcomes varied across countries.
Conclusions:
To our knowledge, this study is the first in the EMR. Appropriately designed studies should better define health literacy needs due to variations in socioeconomic status within subregions. Future health literacy measures must consider stronger psychometric properties to guide development and validation.
Related Concept Videos
Health Literacy
Review and Preview
Percentiles are a type of fractile that partition data into...
Review and Preview
IR Frequency Region: Fingerprint Region
Integration by Parts: Indefinite Integrals
The Eukaryotic Promoter Region

