Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Objective: Health providers are challenged to find efficacious ways to provide health education to a population with diverse levels of health literacy. Traditional means of educating through print brochures have limited effectiveness and a low shelf life as new information is continually released for public consumption. A number of chronic health conditions are growing at staggering rates. Type II diabetes is an example of a chronic disease that could be fought with improved educational offerings. This project sought to test the effectiveness of a website (Diabetes and You) about Type II diabetes designed for non-diabetics with low health literacy.
Methods: Research participants were observed as they viewed the Diabetes and You website, tested for diabetes knowledge before and after viewing the website, checked for functional health literacy, and interviewed to discover their perceptions of the website.
Results: Results indicate that users were engaged and interested in the website and particularly preferred the interactive risk assessment page. Users demonstrated an increase in knowledge about diabetes and its risks after viewing the website.
Conclusions: Results indicate that users appreciate this style of intervention and can learn from it regardless of health literacy level. Further research into more effective ways of delivering health information online to this key target population is still necessary to minimize the impact of health literacy.