Health Literacy Education in Health Professions Schools: An Integrative Review

Background: Most Americans lack the health literacy skills to function in today's health care environment. The Institute of Medicine's Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion report recommended that health professionals be trained to effectively communicate with patients with low health literacy.

Method: An integrative review was conducted, using six electronic databases: CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, and Web of Science.

Results: Nine articles met the inclusion criteria. Educational interventions include multimodal approaches using didactic content, followed by active learning strategies. Evaluative methods in the classroom were used in all studies; however, only one study assessed students' health literacy skills.

Conclusion: Findings support research efforts that (a) clarify where health literacy should be taught, (b) target the assessment of students' health literacy skills, (c) perform rigorous psychometric testing of evaluative instruments used, and (d) create interprofessional learning opportunities.