Key Determinants Influencing the Health Literacy of Pregnant Women in the Czech Republic

Background

Health literacy is a critical determinant of women’s and children’s health and therefore has immense consequences for the health of society as well. Evidence from epidemiological, clinical and experimental studies indicates that unhealthy lifestyles and risky behavioural habits of parents before conception and during pregnancy influence the etiology of various health defects. Decreasing primary risk factors, practicing physical wellness, monitoring physiological markers and preparing for labour, breastfeeding and newborn care should be the main parental responsibilities during the prenatal period.

Methods

Our study focused on specifying the main determinants of health literacy among 360 pregnant Czech women by using an anonymous questionnaire and selected anthropometric data of mothers. The criteria for study participation produced a sample representing 1.41% of Czech women in labour during a given 2012 reference period.

Results

Despite quite adequate knowledge of both risks and supporting factors for pregnancy and foetal development, the lifestyles of a majority of the women surveyed were far from optimum: only 30% reported good dietary and physical activity habits, 24% were active or passive smokers and one third of the women occasionally drank alcohol, more often among those who were university educated.

Conclusion

Our results have confirmed previously published data noting that health literacy and a healthier lifestyle of pregnant women are associated with a higher level of education (except for alcohol drinking) and with contact with a midwife (in some examined parameters) in prenatal courses.     

Biological,psychological and social processes that explain celebrities’ influence on patients’ health-related behaviors

Background

Celebrities can have substantial influence as medical advisors. However, their impact on public health is equivocal: depending on the advice’s validity and applicability, celebrity engagements can benefit or hinder efforts to educate patients on evidence-based practices and improve their health literacy. This meta-narrative analysis synthesizes multiple disciplinary insights explaining the influence celebrities have on people’s health-related behaviors.

Methods

Systematic searches of electronic databases BusinessSource Complete, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Humanities Abstracts, ProQuest Political Science, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Sociology Abstracts were conducted. Retrieved articles were used to inform a conceptual analysis of the possible processes accounting for the substantial influence celebrities may have as medical advisors.

Results

Fourteen mechanisms of celebrity influence were identified. According to the economics literature, celebrities distinguish endorsed items from competitors and can catalyze herd behavior. Marketing studies tell us that celebrities’ characteristics are transferred to endorsed products, and that the most successful celebrity advisors are those viewed as credible, a perception they can create with their success. Neuroscience research supports these explanations, finding that celebrity endorsements activate brain regions involved in making positive associations, building trust and encoding memories. The psychology literature tells us that celebrity advice conditions people to react positively toward it. People are also inclined to follow celebrities if the advice matches their self-conceptions or if not following it would generate cognitive dissonance. Sociology explains how celebrities’ advice spreads through social networks, how their influence is a manifestation of people’s desire to acquire celebrities’ social capital, and how they affect the ways people acquire and interpret health information.

Conclusion

There are clear and deeply rooted biological, psychological and social processes that explain how celebrities influence people’s health behaviors. With a better understanding of this phenomenon, medical professionals can work to ensure that it is harnessed for good rather than abused for harm. Physicians can discuss with their patients the validity of celebrity advice and share more credible sources of health information. Public health practitioners can debunk celebrities offering unsubstantiated advice or receiving inappropriate financial compensation, and should collaborate with well-meaning celebrities, leveraging their influence to disseminate medical practices of demonstrated benefit.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2049-3258-73-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

基于学生需求的医学文献检索课教学改革

结合学生意见和建议,总结分析了医学文献检索课教学中存在的问题,针对这些问题提出了改进教学硬件设备、改变教学方式、开通多种课后答疑和辅导途径、强化学生的信息技能、完善课程考核形式等改革措施。     

泛在知识环境下用户认知对信息检索行为的影响

泛在知识环境给用户认知和信息检索带来巨大挑战,分析了人格特质、认知风格、认知能力、知识结构、归因方式等认知因素对用户检索行为的影响,指出了泛在知识环境刺激下,不同认知影响着检索实施、结果评判和吸收倾向,进而影响用户满意度和持续使用倾向。从信息检索教育、信息服务、信息用户角度建议应该利用认知优势及检索技能制定有效检索策略,在知识同化中完善个人知识体系。     

On-line health seeking activity of older adults: an integrative review of the literature

The internet is increasingly used to provide health information. Supporting older people to access on-line health information requires understanding their current usage and possible barriers and facilitators. Methods involved searching three databases. Inclusion criteria were: (i) articles published within 10 years; (ii) people aged >65; (iii) explored reasons for older people accessing on-line health information and (iv) in English. Eight articles met these criteria. Older people use on-line health information to learn about a disease, medication, treatment, or healthy living. Factors influencing usefulness of on-line health information included demographics, health status, trust in the information, lack of skills using the internet and attitudes of health professionals. Findings indicate that while older people access on-line health information there are barriers: Low trust, financial barriers, lack of familiarity with the internet and low health literacy levels. Implications for nursing include working in partnership with older people to assist them to identify appropriate on-line information.     

Enhancing health policymakers' information literacy knowledge and skill for policymaking on control of infectious diseases of poverty in Nigeria

Background

In Nigeria, one of the major challenges associated with evidence-to-policy link in the control of infectious diseases of poverty (IDP), is deficient information literacy knowledge and skill among policymakers. There is need for policymakers to acquire the skill to discover relevant information, accurately evaluate retrieved information and to apply it correctly.

Objectives

To use information literacy tool of International Network for Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to enhance policymakers'' knowledge and skill for policymaking on control of IDP in Nigeria.

Methods

Modified "before and after" intervention study design was used in which outcomes were measured on target participants both before the intervention is implemented and after. This study was conducted in Ebonyi State, south-eastern Nigeria and participants were career health policy makers. A two-day health-policy information literacy training workshop was organized to enhance participants" information literacy capacity. Topics covered included: introduction to information literacy; defining information problem; searching for information online; evaluating information; science information; knowledge sharing interviews; and training skills.

Results

A total of 52 policymakers attended the workshop. The pre-workshop mean rating (MNR) of knowledge and capacity for information literacy ranged from 2.15-2.97, while the post-workshop MNR ranged from 3.34-3.64 on 4-point scale. The percentage increase in MNR of knowledge and capacity at the end of the workshop ranged from 22.6%-55.3%.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that through information literacy training workshop policy makers can acquire the knowledge and skill to identify, capture and share the right kind of information in the right contexts to influence relevant action or a policy decision.     

Health literacy and the Internet: a study on the readability of Australian online health information

Objective: Almost 80% of Australian Internet users seek out health information online so the readability of this information is important. This study aimed to evaluate the readability of Australian online health information and determine if it matches the average reading level of Australians. Methods: Two hundred and fifty‐one web pages with information on 12 common health conditions were identified across sectors. Readability was assessed by the Flesch‐Kincaid (F‐K), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, with grade 8 adopted as the average Australian reading level. Results: The average reading grade measured by F‐K and SMOG was 10.54 and 12.12 respectively. The mean FRE was 47.54, a ‘difficult‐to‐read’ score. Only 0.4% of web pages were written at or below grade 8 according to SMOG. Information on dementia was the most difficult to read overall, while obesity was the most difficult among government websites. Conclusions and implications: The findings suggest that the readability of Australian health websites is above the average Australian levels of reading. A quantifiable guideline is needed to ensure online health information accommodates the reading needs of the general public to effectively use the Internet as an enabler of health literacy.