Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Literacy”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Kindergarten letter knowledge, phonological skills, and memory processes: relative effects on early literacy.

Kindergarten phonological awareness tasks are first compared as to their predictability of later literacy performance independent of letter knowledge for a group of German children. Results indicate that the phonological awareness tasks vary in their prediction of later literacy performance, which includes spelling and a variety of reading tasks in the first and second grades. A second concern was the relative influence of kindergarten phonological awareness compared with letter knowledge in the prediction of later literacy. The primacy of phonological awareness was demonstrated in predicting later literacy. However, evidence indicated that high letter knowledge in kindergarten may also reliably predict better later literacy skills. Results also suggest a developmental effect in the emergence of phonological processing skills in verbal memory between the ages of 4 and 8. Results of this study differ from those found in other (English speaking) populations most likely given differences in early literacy knowledge, age of beginning reading instruction, and differences in German and English orthography.

Awareness↗
PubMed2005

The Internet: a window on adolescent health literacy.

PURPOSE: Adolescents are well served by the Internet through school access, but they will only derive maximum benefit from this information resource if they are able to search for, evaluate, and use its online information effectively. Internet use, however, requires significant literacy skills, and little is known about the health literacy of adolescents. The aim of this paper is to describe functional, critical, and interactive health literacy challenges experienced by adolescent students when using the Internet for online health information. METHODS: Twenty-six focus groups with 157 adolescent students, aged 11-19, conducted within a convenience sample of middle and high schools in diverse geographical and socioeconomic settings in the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (US) between May 2001 and May 2002. RESULTS: Many students cited difficulties in accessing health information online. Functional health literacy challenges included, for example, spelling medical terms correctly and being able to construct questions describing symptoms accurately. Critical challenges included discerning relevance of information retrieved by search engines and knowing which sites to trust. Interactive challenges included the appropriate application of health information to address personal health concerns within their local neighborhood. CONCLUSIONS: Exploring the challenges faced when adolescents search for online health information indicates deficiencies regarding health literacy skills. Difficulties regarding functional, critical, and interactive skills were all present. The Internet may offer opportunities for identifying such deficiencies and building better health literacy skills among adolescents, as part of health curriculum interventions to improve the population's future health.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Development and pilot testing of a disease management program for low literacy patients with heart failure.

UNLABELLED: Development and pilot testing of a disease management program for low literacy patients with heart failure. BACKGROUND: Randomized trials have shown that disease management programs can reduce hospitalizations and improve symptoms for patients with congestive heart failure. We sought to create and pilot test such a program for patients with low literacy skills. METHODS: We used focus groups and individual cognitive response interviews (CRIs) to develop an educational booklet for low literacy patients with heart failure. We incorporated the booklet into a disease management intervention that also included an initial individualized 1-h educational session and scheduled supportive phone calls that were tapered over 6 weeks. We then conducted a 3-month before-after study on patients with low literacy skills (<9th grade literacy level) in a university internal medicine clinic to test the acceptability and efficacy of our program. Outcomes of interest included heart failure-related knowledge, self-care behavior and heart failure-related symptoms measured on the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure (MLwHF) scale. RESULTS: Twenty-five patients were enrolled and 23 (92%) completed 3-month follow-up. Mean age was 60 years (range 35-74), 60% were men, 60% were African-American, and 74% had household income under $15,000 per year. The median reading level was fifth grade with 32% reading at or below the third grade level. Mean knowledge score at baseline was 67% and did not improve after the intervention. The proportion of patients reporting weighing themselves daily increased from 32% at baseline to 100% at 12 weeks. Mean improvement on the MLwHF scale was 9.9 points over the 3-month trial (95% CI: 0.5, 19.2), which corresponds to an improvement in one class on the New York Heart Association heart failure scale. CONCLUSION: A heart failure disease management program designed specifically for patients with low literacy skills is acceptable and is associated with improvement in self-care behavior and heart failure related symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Development of injury prevention materials for people with low literacy skills.

OBJECTIVE: Children living in low income urban environments are at high risk for preventable injuries, which result in thousands of Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) visits every year. The development and evaluation of written injury prevention materials used in a PED-based intervention trial are presented. The purpose is to describe the development of injury prevention materials for people with low literacy skills, and explain literacy and comprehension abilities among a sample of parents from the PED. METHODS: Materials were developed using rules of plain language and with consideration of the needs of a low literacy population. Materials were assessed using the Flesch-Kincaid and Suitability Assessment of Materials. Literacy and comprehension abilities in a PED sample were tested using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) and the Cloze. RESULTS: REALM results for n=59 parents sampled from the PED indicated that 27% (n=16) read below 9th grade reading level. Cloze results demonstrate that materials were appropriate for 71% (n=21) when written for 8th grade reading level and 80% (n=23) when rewritten for 6th grade reading level. CONCLUSION: Others designing similar interventions can use these methods to develop interventions for low literacy populations. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: When developing injury prevention materials for use with PED populations, health professionals should consider reading ability, reading level, content, and design of materials.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMed2003

Health literacy education and training: a student-professional collaboration.

A Healthy People 2010 objective is to improve the health literacy of persons with inadequate or marginal literacy skills. We designed a nutrition education module for dietetics students that allowed learning about health literacy while teaching this information to interested practitioners. Students designed a workshop for nutritionists by conducting a learning needs assessment and then developing learning objectives, content/methods, and process/outcome objectives. Students presented interactive sessions on using literacy assessment tools and developing low-literacy education materials. Handout packets included a list of relevant literacy Web sites. Evaluations unanimously rated the workshop as excellent or good. By helping teach others, students' learning experience was enhanced.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Factors influencing nutrition education for patients with low literacy skills.

Although there has been increasing attention to cancer prevention among low-income and minority populations, only a few nutrition interventions have addressed the special needs of people with low literacy skills. To determine the best provider and the most effective format for a nutrition intervention targeting patients with low literacy skills, we conducted interviews with literacy experts and health care providers and focus groups with members of adult basic education classes. Thirty-five literacy experts and health-center-based physicians, nurses, and nutritionists in Boston, Mass, were interviewed. In addition, 50 volunteer clients from 4 Boston-based adult basic education programs participated in 6 focus groups. Results suggested that health care providers consider nutrition to be a fundamental health education topic, but that its successful inculcation in patients with limited literacy skills is hindered mostly by insufficient provider time. Almost all providers agreed that patients need to be referred to nutritionists for nutrition education. Although most providers and patients acknowledged that patients perceive physicians to be the authorities on health, patients with low literacy skills turned first to family members and friends for health information. These results suggest that effective nutrition interventions must build on patients' social networks; appear in a visually based, interactive format; and be culturally appropriate.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Does intelligence account for the link between maternal literacy and child survival?

The strong and consistent correlation between maternal education and child health is now well known, and numerous studies have shown that wealth and income cannot explain the link. Policy-makers have therefore assumed that the relationship is causal and explicitly advocate schooling as a child health intervention. However, there are other factors which could account for the apparent effect of maternal education on child morbidity and mortality, one of which is intelligence. This paper examines the effect of maternal intelligence on child health and looks at the degree to which it can explain the literacy associations with child survival and risk of malnutrition. The data are from a retrospective cohort study of 1294 mothers and their 7475 offspring, of whom 454 were women who had learned to read and write as adults in Nicaragua's literacy programme, 457 were illiterate, and 383 had become literate as young girls attending school. The women's intelligence was tested using Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices. Acquisition of literacy was strongly related to intelligence. Statistically significant associations with maternal literacy were found for under five mortality, infant mortality, and the risk of low mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) for age, before and after controlling for a wide range of socio-economic factors. Under five, child (one to four years), infant and post-neonatal mortality plus the risk of low height for age were significantly correlated with intelligence, but only with infant and under mortality rates did the association remain significant after controlling for socio-economic factors. A significant interaction between intelligence and literacy for under five mortality was due to literacy having a strong effect in the women of low intelligence, and a negligible effect among those of high intelligence. This study provides evidence that intelligence is an important determinant of child health among the illiterate, and that education may have the greatest impact on child health for mothers of relatively low intelligence.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Embedded-explicit emergent literacy intervention I: Background and description of approach.

This article, the first of a two-part series, provides background information and a general description of an emergent literacy intervention model for at-risk preschoolers and kindergartners. The embedded-explicit intervention model emphasizes the dual importance of providing young children with socially embedded opportunities for meaningful, naturalistic literacy experiences throughout the day, in addition to regular structured therapeutic interactions that explicitly target critical emergent literacy goals. The role of the speech-language pathologist (SLP) in the embedded-explicit model encompasses both indirect and direct service delivery: The SLP consults and collaborates with teachers and parents to ensure the highest quality and quantity of socially embedded literacy-focused experiences and serves as a direct provider of explicit interventions using structured curricula and/or lesson plans. The goal of this integrated model is to provide comprehensive emergent literacy interventions across a spectrum of early literacy skills to ensure the successful transition of at-risk children from prereaders to readers.

Dyslexia↗
PubMed2004

The development of early literacy skills among children with speech difficulties: a test of the "critical age hypothesis".

This article presents a longitudinal study of the early literacy development of 47 children with speech difficulties from ages 4 to 7 years. Of these children, 19 with specific speech difficulties were compared with 19 children with speech and language difficulties and 19 normally developing controls. The risk of literacy difficulties was greater in the group with speech and language difficulties, and these children displayed deficits in phoneme awareness at 6 years. In contrast, the literacy development of children with isolated speech problems was not significantly different from that of controls. A path analysis relating early speech, language, and literacy skills indicated that preschool language ability was a unique predictor of phoneme awareness at 5;8 (years; months), which, together with early reading skill, predicted literacy outcome at 6;9. Once the effects of phoneme awareness were controlled, neither speech perception nor speech production processes predicted variation in literacy skills. However, it is noteworthy that children with persisting speech difficulties at 6;9 were particularly vulnerable to deficits in reading-related processes.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1995

Phonological awareness and literacy development in children with expressive phonological impairments.

This study investigated the link between expressive phonological impairments, phonological awareness, and literacy. Previous investigations of literacy skills in children with speech impairments have given mixed results; here we considered whether presence of additional language impairments or severity of the speech impairment was an important prognostic factor. Thirty-one children with expressive phonological impairments were compared with control children matched on age and nonverbal ability on three occasions, at mean ages of 70, 79, and 91 months. On each occasion they were given three tests of phonological awareness: one involved rime-matching and two involved onset-matching. At assessments 2 and 3 literacy skills were assessed. Children with phonological impairments scored well below their controls on phonological awareness and literacy, independent of whether or not they had other language problems. Although many of them knew letter sounds, they were poor at reading and writing nonwords as well as real words. It is suggested that both the speech impairment and the literacy problems arise from a failure to analyze syllables into smaller phonological units. The severity of the phonological problems in relation to age is an important determinant of literacy outcome; children who have severe expressive phonological impairments at the time they start school are at particular risk for reading and spelling problems.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2001

The relationship between attendance at birth and maternal mortality rates: an exploration of United Nations' data sets including the ratios of physicians and nurses to population, GNP per capita and female literacy.

UNLABELLED: The relationship between attendance at birth and maternal mortality rates: an exploration of United Nations' data sets including the ratios of physicians and nurses to population, GNP per capita and female literacy. BACKGROUND: This is the third and final paper drawing on data taken from United Nations (UN) data sets. The first paper examined the global distribution of health professionals (as measured by ratios of physicians and nurses to population), and its relationship to gross national product per capita (GNP) (Wharrad & Robinson 1999). The second paper explored the relationships between the global distribution of physicians and nurses, GNP, female literacy and the health outcome indicators of infant and under five mortality rates (IMR and u5MR) (Robinson & Wharrad 2000). In the present paper, the global distribution of health professionals is explored in relation to maternal mortality rates (MMRs). The proportion of births attended by medical and nonmedical staff defined as "attendance at birth by trained personnel" (physicians, nurses, midwives or primary health care workers trained in midwifery skills), is included as an additional independent variable in the regression analyses, together with the ratio of physicians and nurses to population, female literacy and GNP. AIM: To extend our earlier analyses by considering the relationships between the global distribution of health professionals (ratios of physicians and nurses to population, and the proportion of births attended by trained health personnel), GNP, female literacy and MMR. <Design. Using a database on 155 countries, regression analyses were performed using numbers of physicians, and numbers of nurses, per 1000 population, the proportion of births attended by trained health personnel, GNP per capita and female literacy as independent variables and MMRs as the dependent variable. RESULTS: Linear regression analyses show positive associations for MMRs and the ratios of physicians to population (73%, n=136), ratios of nurses to population (56%, n=137), and the proportion of births attended by trained health personnel (83%, n=118). Multiple regression analyses reveal a more complex picture, with nurses disappearing altogether when regressed with physicians, GNP, female literacy and MMR. The three variables, attendance at birth by trained personnel, GNP and physicians per 1000 population explained 87% of the variation in MMR (n=112) when included in the multiple regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: As in the previous papers, caution is required regarding the validity and reliability of the UN data sources used in these analyses. Maternal mortality rates are particularly susceptible to inaccuracies. Nevertheless, the strength of the positive correlations suggests that real relationships are identified between the independent variables and the dependent variable of MMR. The strength of the linear and multiple correlations between births attended by trained personnel and lower MMRs indicates that maternal deaths are substantially reduced when a high proportion of births are attended by health professionals, including primary health care workers trained in midwifery skills, with the maintenance of an aseptic environment, the identification of maternal and foetal complications, and the opportunity when necessary to transfer parturient mothers to centres with higher level skills and facilities.

Bias↗
PubMed2001

Developing information literacy: a key to evidence-based nursing.

This report describes the evaluation of a curriculum-integrated programme designed to help students develop an awareness of the nursing literature, the skills to locate and retrieve it, and skills required in its evaluation; in other words'information literacy'. Positive changes in student performance on objective measures of information-literacy skills were revealed as well as a significant increase in the levels of confidence of the student in performing those skills. Students who had undertaken the information-literacy programme ('programme' students) performed better on a range of objective measures of information literacy, as well as reporting higher levels of confidence in these skills, than students who had not participated in the programme ('non-programme' students). Evaluation of this programme provides evidence of the potential usefulness of a curriculum-integrated approach for the development of information-literacy skills within nursing education. With these underlying skills, students will be better equipped to consolidate and extend their key information-literacy skills to include research appreciation and application. These are vital for effective lifelong learning and a prerequisite to evidence-based practice.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMed1999

Adherence to combination antiretroviral therapies in HIV patients of low health literacy.

OBJECTIVE: To test the significance of health literacy relative to other predictors of adherence to treatment for HIV and AIDS. PARTICIPANTS: Community sample of HIV-seropositive men (n = 138) and women (n = 44) currently taking a triple-drug combination of antiretroviral therapies for HIV infection; 60% were ethnic minorities, and 73% had been diagnosed with AIDS. MEASUREMENTS: An adapted form of the Test of Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA), a comprehensive health and treatment interview that included 2-day recall of treatment adherence and reasons for nonadherence, and measures of substance abuse, social support, emotional distress, and attitudes toward primary care providers. MAIN RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression showed that education and health literacy were significant and independent predictors of 2-day treatment adherence after controlling for age, ethnicity, income, HIV symptoms, substance abuse, social support, emotional distress, and attitudes toward primary care providers. Persons of low literacy were more likely to miss treatment doses because of confusion, depression, and desire to cleanse their body than were participants with higher health literacy. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions are needed to help persons of low literacy adhere to antiretroviral therapies.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2001

Investing in emergent literacy intervention: a key role for speech-language pathologists.

Emergent literacy is a developmental period that is receiving renewed and increased emphasis in the fields of education and speech-language pathology because of its influence on the later literacy development and achievement of students. With their strong background in language, language development, and language disorders, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can make significant contributions to the acquisition of emergent literacy skills. This article focuses on SLP direct-service roles for students with identified communication impairments and on indirect roles of assisting teachers and others to promote the emergent literacy skills of all students. In addition to the acknowledged importance of general oral language, guidelines, suggestions, and resources are offered to foster emergent literacy skills in five specific areas: (1) early phonological awareness, (2) joint book reading and sense of story, (3) alphabetic letter knowledge, (4) adult modeling of literacy activities, and (5) experience with writing materials.

Awareness↗
PubMed2005

Relation between literacy and HIV treatment knowledge among patients on HAART regimens.

Successful management of HIV requires patient understanding and ability to act on treatment information. We examined the relationship between patient literacy and understanding of HIV treatment. Literacy, knowledge of CD4 count and viral load, and correct identification of HIV medications in regimen were evaluated in 204 patients receiving care in Shreveport, Louisiana and Chicago, Illinois. One-third of patients had limited literacy skills. These patients were less able to describe CD4 count (p < 0.001), viral load (p < 0.001) and to correctly identify medications in their regimen (p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, limited literacy was an independent predictor of poor understanding of CD4 count (OR 2.9, 95% CI: 1.3-6.3) and viral load (OR 4.1, 95% CI: 1.9-8.8). For correct medication identification, a significant interaction was found between number of HIV medications and literacy level. Among patients taking only 1-2 HIV medications, 100% of higher literate patients were able to identify their medications, compared to none of the lower literate patients prescribed three or more HIV medications. Patients with limited literacy skills may lack essential knowledge related to their HIV treatment. Clinicians may require additional training for improving communication with these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Improving rates of cervical cancer screening and Pap smear follow-up for low-income women with limited health literacy.

Adult literacy is an independent and important predictor of health behavior. In 1993, the National Adult Literacy Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Education demonstrated that one-third of the U.S. population over age 16 (44 million adults) is functionally illiterate. Several studies link low health literacy to self-reported poor health status, poor health behavior, and inadequate knowledge about disease. Epidemiologic studies of cancer prevention have not detected strong racial and ethnic disparities in disease detection and progression, resulting in an emphasis on behavioral and intervention-based research. Low literacy presents a wide-reaching barrier to disease prevention that, unlike race/ethnicity, is potentially modifiable. Here, we explore the relationship between health literacy and health behaviors related to cervical cancer prevention in an effort to address concerns about low rates of screening and follow-up in vulnerable populations. Our goal is to improve our understanding of the health impact of low literacy among urban women and to inspire interventions that will promote disease prevention behaviors in this population, particularly with regard to cervical cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Blue listerine, parochialism, and ASL literacy.

There are not many elements of human life that have had as significant an impact on our development as literacy. Literacy has certainly been, and remains, a crucial issue especially in Deaf Education and in the Deaf World. The traditional definition of literacy has been exclusively understood as reading and writing. However, this article is intended to provide a thoughtful and provocative commentary that supports adopting new directions and comprehensive definitions for understanding literacy, which includes both written and signed languages. By applying ideas from Deaf Studies and New Literacy Studies we will conduct a thorough exploration of the fundamental components of literacy and illuminate important political and practical applications related to Deaf Education.

Education of Persons with Hearing Disabilities↗
PubMed2000

Screening for literacy and readability: implications for the advanced practice nurse.

The National Adult Literacy Survey reported that 44 million adult Americans could not read or write well enough to meet the needs of everyday living and working. Low literacy is more prevalent than the average nurse is aware, and often the written materials given to patients are above their reading level and therefore are misunderstood. This article defines literacy and describes literacy screening tools and readability formulas. Recommendations for including assessment of literacy and readability as essential activities of the advanced practice nurse (APN) are presented. The APN can be instrumental in providing leadership and directing education, thus ameliorating the effects of low literacy.

Education↗