Being Healthy Staying Healthy: the Australian adult education-based Health Literacy Program

Items in bold are the core topics that all students were required to study to complete the course. The remaining topics were optional and decided by students and teachers for inclusion based on interest and relevance for the group.

 Aim: The aim of this program of work was to develop and evaluate the effects of a health literacy program as part of an adult education curriculum for adults with low literacy and numeracy.

What we did: We compared the effect of an adult education-based health literacy program versus a standard language, literacy and numeracy program on students' health literacy skills and psychosocial outcomes.

The program: The health literacy program embedded key language, literacy, and numeracy skills into learning materials that focused on the priorities of Australian national public health. The content covered 30 health topics and a shared decision-making component to promote patient involvement. Table 1 lists the topics covered by the health literacy program. We ran the program through established adult learning programs across New South Wales. The program included the completion of approximately 18 weeks of health literacy classes as part of an existing adult basic education program. Students were required to study the 11 core subjects (in bold in Table 1) but then were able to select from the remaining topics. All classes were delivered by experienced TAFE teachers who were trained in the study procedures at a 1-day workshop.

Findings: Although students in both trial arms improved their skills, students in the health literacy program had better outcomes with higher health literacy, greater confidence, and higher health knowledge scores at 6 months. Teaching shared decision-making content increased participants' health literacy skills for shared decision-making and changed the nature of the questions they would ask health care professionals. Both teachers and students positively evaluated the course, with students feeling more empowered to take care of their health.

See the program manuals here.

Led by: Professor Kirsten McCaffery (main trial), Danielle Muscat (SDM component)

Team: Suzanne Morony (trial coordinator), Andrew Hayen, Lyndal Trevena, Heather L. Shepherd, Haryana M. Dhillon, Sian K. Smith, Erin Cvejic, Wedyan Meshreky, Karen Luxford, & Don Nutbeam

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