IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF HEALTH LITERACY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR NURSES. A HEALTH LITERACY INTERVENTION STUDY

Introduction : Health literacy is the knowledge, motivation and competence to obtain, comprehend, evaluate and make use of health information and services in ways that promote and maintain good health. Health literacy practices are an important component of effective patient-health-professional communication . However, the literacy level of health information, both in print and spoken, being received by and communicated to health consumers by healthcare professionals is not at a level that is comprehended by patients irrespective of their health literacy status . A special emphasis should be placed on training and educating nurses on how to utilize health literacy strategies in order to learn to interact in ways that are beneficial to and encourage patient understanding. Objective : The main objective of this PhD project is to develop, implement and evaluate a health literacy  training intervention for nurses in east African countries. Study design : This study will employ a quasi-experimental pre-post study design to assess the effect of the health literacy intervention on nurses health literacy competences. Sample size and setting : The intervention will be implemented for six months and will involve 50 nurses from East African countries . Health literacy training intervention : The study will be conducted in five phases: the program development phase, the piloting phase, the implementation phase, the evaluation phase , and the optimization phase . The training will be delivered via lecture, short video clips, group discussion and interactive activities. The content of training will be adapted from  existing health literacy guidelines such as: the WHO Health literacy toolkit for Low- and Middle-Income Countries, The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, and The WHO health literacy solid facts. Data collection tools: the quantitative data will be collected at base line and post-intervention using Health literacy questionnaire, Health literacy Knowledge , and Health Literacy Strategies Behavioral Intention Questionnaire . Additionally, qualitative data will be collected via focus group discussions and key informant interview. Data analysis : The study will employ both quantitative and qualitative data analysis approaches Dissemination of findings : the result of the study will reach policymakers , healthcare professionals, researchers through publication in an open-access peer review journals and through conference proceedings.