Learning Objective #1: State three groups who have large numbers of individuals with low health literacy

Learning Objective #2: Identify two effective strategies to improve outcomes for individuals or groups with low health literacy levels

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Low health literacy is estimated to affect over 44% of the U.S. adult population (AMA Ad Hoc Committee on Health Literacy, 1999; Gazmararian et al, 1999). Armed with the understanding of our population, health care providers including nurses, physicians, and health educators have an obligation to find a way to overcome the barrier of low health literacy and to effectively communicate health risks, disease processes and treatment plans. The purpose of this poster is to present the findings of an integrative literature review which included literature from 2001-2004 on the effectiveness of health education interventions in low-literacy adult populations. The Health Belief Model (HBM) guided this integrative literature review by acknowledging an individual's perceptions, modifying factors and readiness to take action will influence the effectiveness of any educational interventions. Research has identified the problem of low health literacy and the need for effective education interventions to improve health outcomes. Articles were identified via searches of PubMed, EMBASE and CINAHL electronic data bases using the key words or phrases: literacy, health literacy, patient education, adherence, outcome assessment, and program evaluation. Studies written outside of this time frame, addressing children or written in a language other than English were excluded. Each article was examined for population studied, education intervention utilized, integrity of design, and measurement of effectiveness, inclusion of elements of the HBM and strength of statistical analysis. This poster presentation will provide Advanced Practices Nurses as well as other health care providers valuable information on the problem of low health literacy, who is affected by the problem, and education interventions that are effective in clinical practice.