General Health Literacy for All: Culturally informed care and health literacy a systematic review
Chesser, Amy K. To, Bao Nhu (Yuki) Bowen, Aaron Drassen Ham, Amy
Chesser, Amy K.
To, Bao Nhu (Yuki)
Bowen, Aaron
Drassen Ham, Amy
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2024-04-08
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Poster
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Citation
Chesser A., To B., Bowen A., Drassen Ham, A. (2024). General health literacy for all: Culturally informed care and health literacy a systematic review. Health Literacy Collaborative Summit, Madison, WI. https://hdl.handle.net/10057/28191
Abstract
A hallmark of informed and responsive healthcare is assessing patient health literacy (Drassen Ham 2013, Keene Woods, Medina, Reyes, and Chesser 2023). However, few researchers share practical strategies for applying results to improve health disparities. The goal of this study was to synthesize findings demonstrating how researchers address health literacy using culturally informed and responsive care methods. Inclusion criteria for the articles reviewed included: the study had to be published during the most recent five years, be peer-reviewed, be in the English language, and explicitly cover some aspect of being “culturally informed” in relation to health literacy. Twenty articles were included in the final review. Study participants ranged from 15 to 2954 with mean of 278. Studies were published between 2018-2023 including 5 studies outside U.S. and 15 in U.S. Standard healthcare search methods (MeSH, CINAHL) did not recognize “culturally informed care” as a term and “culturally competent care” remains common usage. Most studies were of "underserved" or "minority" populations (i.e., African American women, Arabic-speaking women, Korean American immigrants). Researchers used traditional approaches to address low health literacy (teach back, plain language, translated print materials, and interpreter services) but specifically deployed these methods when serving "other", minoritized, and/or non-native English-speaking populations. Our results demonstrate a need for continued training and implementation of Universal Precautions to impact health equity. This poster calls on researchers and educators to thoughtfully engage new approaches by expanding attention to health literacy and diffusion of culturally informed and responsive care principles.