Addressing COVID-19 and Health Literacy Disparities Among Correctional Facility Residents Through Dialogue-Based Education

• Published in: Journal of correctional health care Vol. 30; no. 4; p. 275
• Main Authors: Kader, Farah, Kruchten, Stephanie, Collica-Cox, Kim, Davidson, Charis, Hewlett, Jr, Dial, Campo, Marc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.08.2024
• Subjects: Adult; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; Female; Health Behavior; Health Education - organization & administration; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Literacy; Humans; Jails; Male; Middle Aged; Prisons - organization & administration; SARS-CoV-2; Trust; United States; United States; health education; health behavior; carceral health; health literacy; dialogic learning
• ISSN: 1940-5200
• DOI: 10.1089/jchc.24.01.0010

Carceral communities face heightened COVID-19-related risks while simultaneously experiencing medical mistrust and limited access to health information and services. Health education programs that incorporate dialogue-based, participatory learning models have been shown to motivate health behavior and increase health knowledge in carceral settings. To increase health literacy and change COVID-19-related health behavior among jail residents in the United States, a local health department developed a dialogue-based education program centered around COVID-19 prevention, misinformation, and navigating health care systems. Dialogue-based health information sessions took place in person in a county jail. Pre- and postsurveys gauged the sessions' influence on self-reported health literacy and behavior intention. Overall, 595 residents collectively attended 43 facilitated discussions. Key findings indicate that dialogue-based education can temper medical mistrust, influencing COVID-19 preventive behaviors and increasing health literacy in a carceral setting.