Easy to read health education material improves oral health literacy of older adults in rural community-based care centers: A quasi-experimental study

Kuo Ting Sun, Tzong Ming Shieh, Shih Min Hsia, Valendriyani Ningrum, Xin Yi Lin, Yin Hwa Shih

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Health education increases older adults’ health knowledge and affects their health out-comes. Older adults have physical changes with aging, such as blurred vision and cognitive decline. Therefore, health education materials must be legible in their case. This study, following the “easy (EZ) to read” concept, designed oral health education material and tested the learning effectiveness of older adults in rural community-based care centers in central Taiwan. Three of the communities were provided EZ to read health education material (n = 72), while three were given general text material (n = 57) as the control group. We collected pre-test and post-test scores using the Mandarin version of the oral health literacy adult questionnaire (MOHL-AQ). The demographic background of the EZ to read and general text groups showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed that the EZ to read material significantly improved total scores of oral health literacy (p < 0.001). The chi-square test showed a significant improvement in oral health literacy levels (p < 0.001). We suggest applying EZ to read concepts to widen the field of older adult education and to reduce illegibility-induced health knowledge disparities.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1465
JournalHealthcare (Switzerland)
Volume9
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2021

Keywords

  • Community-based care center
  • Easy to read
  • Health education material
  • Older adults
  • Oral health literacy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Health Informatics
  • Health Policy
  • Health Information Management
  • Leadership and Management

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Easy to read health education material improves oral health literacy of older adults in rural community-based care centers: A quasi-experimental study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this