Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Medical Education
Date Submitted: Apr 26, 2022
Date Accepted: Sep 2, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: Sep 30, 2022
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic: To what extent has health literacy in health professionals been addressed in research? Results from a scoping review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Health literacy (HL) is an important public-health-goal but also crucial in individuals providing medical care. During the pandemic, COVID-19-related HL of health professionals (HP) has gained momentum: it helps to minimize the risk of self-infection on the one hand, and to protect patients and relatives from infection on the other hand. However, comprehensive information about the levels of individual pandemic related HL in HPs is scarce.
Objective:
We aimed at describing the extent of existing research on HL, conducted in HPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the scoping review is to describe the current evidence landscape, identify research gaps and to reflect the current state of research including methods and instruments used.
Methods:
This scoping review was conducted among the DFG-funded HELICAP research group using the methodology of Khalil et al. (2016). This involved an electronic search of PubMed (MEDLINE) and PsycInfo and a hand search. The included studies were iteratively examined to find items representing the four HL dimensions ‘access, understand, critically appraise and apply’ COVID-19-related health information.
Results:
The search yielded a total of 3875 references. Only seven of the 489 included studies explicitly stated to have addressed HL. Two of these attempted to develop an instrument measuring COVID-19-related HL in HPs. Six studies included a HL measure in an observational survey design. Of the remainder the vast majority used a cross-sectional design. The dimensions access and understand very frequently examined but few studies looked at the dimensions crital appraisal or apply. Very few studies reported an intervention aiming to improve a COVID-19-related HL outcome.
Conclusions:
High levels of COVID-19-related HL among HPs are necessary to ensure not only safe practice with necessary protection of HPs themselves, their patients and relatives, but also successful care delivery and subsequently improved health outcomes in the long term. To advance our understanding of how high COVID-19-related HL manifests itself in HPs, how it relates to health outcomes and how it can be improved, more research is necessary.
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