Performance of a Brazilian population on the test of functional health literacy in adults

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the scoring obtained by an instrument, which evaluates the ability to read and understand items in the health care setting, according to education and age. METHODS: The short version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults was administered to 312 healthy participants of different ages and years of schooling. The study was conducted between 2006 and 2007, in the city of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. The test includes actual materials such as pill bottles and appointment slips and measures reading comprehension, assessing the ability to read and correctly pronounce a list of words and understand both prose passages and numerical information. Pearson partial correlations and a multiple regression model were used to verify the association between its scores and education and age. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 47.3 years(sd=16.8) and the mean education was 9.7 years(sd=5; range: 1 - 17). A total of 32.4% of the sample showed literacy/numeracy deficits, scoring in the inadequate and marginal functional health literacy ranges. Among the elderly (65 years or older) this rate increased to 51.6%. There was a positive correlation between schooling and scores (r=0.74; p<0.01) and a negative correlation between age and the scores (r=-0.259; p<0.01). The correlation between the scores and age was not significant when the effects of education were held constant (rp=-0.031, p=0.584). A significant association (B=3.877, Beta =0.733; p<0.001) was found between schooling and scores. Age was not a significant predictor in this model (B=-0.035, Beta=-0.22; p=0.584). CONCLUSIONS: The short version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults was a suitable tool to assess health literacy in the study population. The high number of individuals classified as functional illiterates in this test highlights the importance of special assistance to help them properly understand directions for healthcare.

Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Portuguese-speaking Adults

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a short health literacy assessment tool for Portuguese-speaking adults. METHODS: The Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Portuguese-speaking Adults is an assessment tool which consists of 50 items that assess an individual's ability to correctly pronounce and understand common medical terms. We evaluated the instrument's psychometric properties in a convenience sample of 226 Brazilian older adults. Construct validity was assessed by correlating the tool scores with years of schooling, self-reported literacy, and global cognitive functioning. Discrimination validity was assessed by testing the tool's accuracy in detecting inadequate health literacy, defined as failure to fully understand standard medical prescriptions. RESULTS: Moderate to high correlations were found in the assessment of construct validity (Spearman's coefficients ranging from 0.63 to 0.76). The instrument showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.93) and adequate test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.95). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for detection of inadequate health literacy was 0.82. A version consisting of 18 items was tested and showed similar psychometric properties. CONCLUSIONS: The instrument developed showed good validity and reliability in a sample of Brazilian older adults. It can be used in research and clinical settings for screening inadequate health literacy.

Liderança Coaching: um modelo de referência para o exercício do enfermeiro-líder no contexto hospitalar

O presente estudo teve por objetivos avaliar a liderança exercida pelas enfermeiras com uso do coaching como ferramenta gerencial, identificar, mensurar e analisar a aquisição de competências percebidas pelas enfermeiras que atuam como coaches, Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, transversal, exploratório e de campo, com abordagem quantitativa. A Liderança Situacional foi selecionada como referencial teórico e o instrumento de pesquisa foi submetido a análises estatísticas e de conteúdo, aplicado em 111 enfermeiras líderes em um hospital geral, privado, de grande porte da cidade de São Paulo. Os resultados evidenciaram que houve incorporação de novos conhecimentos, confirmaram o modelo de Liderança Situacional ao reconhecer ser líder coach, tendo o estilo predominantemente orientado às tarefas e às pessoas, segundo a situação envolvida, e ainda, indicaram como habilidades preponderantes do coach: a comunicação, dar e receber feedback, dar e ganhar poder e exercer influência, que as atitudes refletiram o exercício o liderança coaching.

Modes of acquisition of health literacy skills in informal learning contexts

In this article we try to analyze the learning processes of health literacy skills in informal contexts. We intend to broaden the understanding of the learning process beyond the formal contexts, thus contributing to the elucidation of health professionals on how individuals acquire and manage their knowledge in health matters. Given our goal, we use an analytic corpus constituted by one hundred autobiographical narratives written between 2006 and 2011, in educational contexts but with recognized potential for use in different scientific fields, including health. The results reveal the existence of three different types of modes of learning health literacy skills in informal context: : i) learning that takes place in action, in achieving daily tasks; ii) learning processes that result from problem solving; iii) learning that occurs in an unplanned manner, resulting from accidental circumstances and, in some cases, devoid of intentionality.

Information literacy: princípios, filosofia e prática

Surgida na literatura em 1974, a information literacy liga-se à necessidade de se exercer o domínio sobre o sempre crescente universo informacional. Incorporando habilidades, conhecimentos e valores relacionados à busca, acesso, avaliação, organização e difusão da informação e do conhecimento. A information literacy é a própria essência da competência em informação. O objetivo deste trabalho é definir a information literacy a partir do entendimento do conceito, objetivos e práticas relacionadas, com ênfase no papel educacional das bibliotecas e do bibliotecário. Inicialmente, apresenta-se a evolução do conceito segundo um referencial histórico. Examina-se a information literacy enquanto processo de interiorização de conhecimentos, habilidades e valores ligados à informação e ao aprendizado. Define-se a expressão, suas características e objetivos. Discutem-se diferentes concepções de information literacy, segundo três referenciais: informação, conhecimento e aprendizado. Em seguida, são elencados pontos relevantes de atuação de bibliotecas e bibliotecários na implementação de uma educação voltada para a information literacy. Explorando a information literacy education, evidencia-se a necessidade de construção de um novo paradigma educacional ante a sociedade atual que incorpore a competência em informação.

Information literacy - historical and conceptual bases: constructing meanings

Recent years have witnessed the increasing interest in studies focused on information literacy, which is reflected mainly in the number of publications on the subject and goes beyond the fields of Librarianship and Information Science. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to offer an outlook, historical and conceptual, of international researches on information literacy, trying to show some of the different ramifications which the discussion on the subject has exhibited in past few years in countries where its process of legitimation is already well established, in order to illuminate possible areas of research and action for the librarian professional. This research indicates that if the initial studies on this topic tended to be devoted to conceptualize it, discussing its relevance and determine the skills and knowledge related to information literacy, in the last decade can be noticed a proliferation of researches aimed at describing initiatives or proposing models in areas beyond the usual field such as Medical Sciences, Law, Politics or Computers, among others. The first results of this research refer to a philosophical and educational perspective of information literacy, which suggests the need for deeper understanding and characterization of information literacy in four dimensions: technical, aesthetic, ethical and political, serving both to competence as to information.