Effectiveness of health literacy education for nursing students: A randomized controlled trial

• Published in: International journal of nursing practice Vol. 27; no. 5; pp. e12981 - n/a
• Main Authors: Akca, Ayşegül, Ayaz‐Alkaya, Sultan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Richmond Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2021
• Subjects: Clinical trials; Competence; Control groups; Curricula; education; Health care; Health education; Health literacy; Intervention; Medical education; Medical personnel; Nursing; Nursing care; Nursing education; Quality of care; Students; undergraduate student
• ISSN: 1322-7114; 1440-172X
• DOI: 10.1111/ijn.12981

Aim The aim of this study was to determine the effect of health literacy education given to nursing students on health literacy level. Background Health literacy has become an important issue in the field of health. Health literacy is an issue of interest to health professionals as well as individuals. Methods The study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial. A total of 206 nursing students, 103 in the intervention and 103 in the control group, were included in the study. The intervention group received four weekly training sessions of health literacy education. The research was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov with the registration number NCT04868487. Results On the baseline assessment, there were no statistically significant differences between the intervention and control group in terms of health literacy level (p > 0.05). In the 1st‐ week and 12th‐week measurements, the health literacy level of the intervention group was significantly higher than control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion Health literacy education was effective in increasing the health literacy level of the students. Therefore, the concept of health literacy should be added to the nursing education curriculum. Summary statement What is already known about this topic? Health literacy is important for nursing care. Health literacy of nursing students is not at the desired level. There is no special intervention to improve the health literacy level of nursing students. What this paper adds? This study provides evidence on how the health literacy level of nursing students can be improved. It also emphasizes the importance of nursing students to gain health literacy proficiency before graduation. Without intervention to improve health literacy, the health literacy level of students cannot reach a sufficient level with nursing education alone. The implications of this paper: The current study indicates that health literacy education remarkably increased the level of health literacy of nursing students. Nurses or nursing students with a high level of health literacy can improve the quality of care by communicating more effectively with patients.