School of Medicine, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, 17 Liverpool Street, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
School of Education, College of Arts, Law and Education, University of Tasmania, Newnham Drive, Newnham, Tasmania 7001, Australia.
Health Promot Int. 2024 Oct 1;39(5). doi: 10.1093/heapro/daae130.
Health literacy is a vital asset needed to empower individuals to take control of their health. An individual's health literacy is the ability to find, use and apply health information and services to manage their health. They interact with the health services and members of their community who can offer additional support. Creating the role of a health literacy mediator (HLM) may help to improve health literacy outcomes for all. For this role to be accepted by individuals within a community, the community itself should be involved in the development of the roles and associated responsibilities. The aim of this study was to engage with community members to acquire their perspectives on the potential of this role. Qualitative semi-structured online interviews were used to engage in discussions with local community members. This study implemented a constructivist epistemology with qualitative research design. Data were thematically analysed to identify evolving themes that were important to the HLM role. The analysis identified three main themes that need to be considered when adopting an HLM role: (i) health empowerment of individuals, organizations and communities, (ii) meeting the needs of the community and (iii) addressing the existing barriers in navigating and accessing the healthcare system. Those working in the health promotion space must adopt novel and innovative ways to improve HL on both a local and an international scale. This study concluded that for the role of a HLM to be accepted, it would need to encompass these attributes.
健康素养是赋予个人控制自身健康的能力所需的重要资产。个人的健康素养是指查找、使用和应用健康信息和服务来管理自身健康的能力。他们与可以提供额外支持的卫生服务提供者和社区成员互动。创建健康素养调解员（HLM）的角色可能有助于改善所有人的健康素养结果。为了使社区中的个人接受这一角色，社区本身应该参与角色的发展及其相关责任。本研究的目的是让社区成员参与进来，了解他们对这一角色的看法。采用定性半结构式在线访谈与当地社区成员进行讨论。本研究采用建构主义认识论和定性研究设计。对数据进行主题分析，以确定对 HLM 角色重要的不断发展的主题。分析确定了采用 HLM 角色时需要考虑的三个主要主题：（i）个人、组织和社区的健康赋权，（ii）满足社区的需求，（iii）解决在导航和获取医疗保健系统方面存在的障碍。在促进健康领域工作的人员必须采用新颖和创新的方法来提高当地和国际范围内的 HL。本研究得出结论，为了使 HLM 角色被接受，它需要包含这些属性。
