Social marketing meets health literacy: Innovative improvement of health care providers' comfort with patient interaction.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
It is essential to train health care providers to deliver care sensitive to the needs of diverse individuals with varying degrees of health literacy. We aimed to evaluate an innovative, theory-based, educational intervention involving social marketing and health literacy.

METHODS:
In 2006 at a large medical school, all first-year students were exposed to the intervention. They completed pre- and post-test anonymous surveys including demographic data, covariates, and key outcome variables. Paired t-tests and multiple linear regression were used to evaluate the intervention and to determine independent associations among the key outcome variables.

RESULTS:
Post-intervention scores were significantly higher than pre-intervention scores for social marketing (3.31 versus 1.90, p<0.001), health literacy (3.41 versus 2.98, p<0.001), and comfort in brochure development (3.11 versus 2.52, p<0.001) (N=83). After controlling for demographic and covariate data, health literacy and comfort in brochure development were independent predictors of comfort interacting with diverse populations.

CONCLUSION:
A brief intervention involving social marketing and health literacy can improve skills that improve medical students' comfort with patients of diverse backgrounds.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS:
Health care providers can be taught educational principles and skills involved in developing effective patient education materials. These skills may improve providers' comfort with direct patient interaction.

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Author information

Author/s: Primack, Brian A (BA); Bui, Thuy (T); Fertman, Carl I (CI);

Affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. bprimack(-atsign-)pitt.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Evaluation Studies; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Patient education and counseling (Patient Educ Couns), published in Ireland. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Sep; vol 68 (issue 1) : pp 3-9

Dates: Created 2007/08/06; Completed 2007/11/05; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 17418522, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Analysis of Variance
Attitude of Health Personnel
Clinical Competence
Cultural Diversity
Education, Medical, Undergraduate - organization & administration
Educational Status
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health Promotion
Humans
Linear Models
Male

Male
Pamphlets
Patient Education as Topic - organization & administration
Pennsylvania
Physician-Patient Relations
Program Evaluation
Psychological Theory
Psychology, Educational
Questionnaires
Self Efficacy
Social Marketing
Students, Medical - psychology
Teaching Materials

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