Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Personalized Approach to Understanding Fatty Liver Disease

Health literacy in medical imaging: a scoping review of current evidence and future directions

OBJECTIVE

The importance of health literacy in medical imaging is well recognized, yet the current landscape remains inadequately understood. This study aims to explore the extent of health literacy studies contextualized to medical imaging.

STUDY DESIGN

Scoping review.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted using three online bibliographic databases namely, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and CINAHL. We have adopted the concept of health literacy, as a clinical risk and personal asset, to guide this review.

RESULTS

Of 311 unique articles, 39 met our selection criteria. Five themes (categories) were identified by the authors: appropriate communication with patients who receive medical imaging test results, appropriate usage of medical imaging, classes and characteristics of eHealth literacy, disease/deterioration prevention, and patient education. Additionally, 17 health literacy assessment tools were identified, including 11 original creations. Finally, 11 recommendations have emerged from this scoping review, offering valuable insights into methods, considerations, and strategies for promoting health literacy.

CONCLUSIONS

Health literacy studies in medical imaging cover both clinical and public health perspectives, benefiting diverse populations, regardless of underlying medical conditions. Notably, the majority of assessment tools used in these studies were author-generated, hindering cross-study comparisons. Given the innate capacity of medical images to convey intuitive information, those images do not solely benefit the patients who are given medical imaging examinations, but they also hold significant potential to enhance public health literacy. Health literacy and medical imaging are closely associated and mutually reinforce each other.

Assessment Tools for Measuring Health Literacy and Digital Health Literacy in a Hospital Setting: A Scoping Review

Assessment of (digital) health literacy in the hospital can raise staff awareness and facilitate tailored communication, leading to improved health outcomes. Assessment tools should ideally address multiple domains of health literacy, fit to the complex hospital context and have a short administration time, to enable routine assessment. This review aims to create an overview of tools for measuring (digital) health literacy in hospitals. A search in Scopus, PubMed, WoS and CINAHL, following PRISMA guidelines, generated 7252 hits; 251 studies were included in which 44 assessment tools were used. Most tools (57%) were self-reported and 27% reported an administration time of <5 min. Almost all tools addressed the domain 'understanding' (98%), followed by 'access' (52%), 'apply' (50%), 'appraise' (32%), 'numeracy' (18%), and 'digital' (18%). Only four tools were frequently used: the Newest Vital Sign (NVS), the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy for Adults ((S)TOFHLA), the Brief Health Literacy Screener (BHLS), and the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ). While the NVS and BHLS have a low administration time, they cover only two domains. HLQ covers the most domains: access, understanding, appraise, and apply. None of these four most frequently used tools measured digital skills. This review can guide health professionals in choosing an instrument that is feasible in their daily practice, and measures the required domains.

Developing an educational resource for parents on pediatric catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) prevention

BACKGROUND

Pediatric catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) prevention guidelines encourage family engagement; however, there is a dearth of research on parent-facing CAUTI prevention resources. We aimed to meet the learning needs of parents about CAUTI prevention in the hospital by developing and refining an educational pamphlet with parents.

METHODS

Phase 1: We compiled existing evidence from CAUTI prevention guidelines and conducted a focus group with parents to form learning objectives. Phase 2: We developed prototype design elements, tested initial designs with a survey, and conducted qualitative participatory design sessions with parents to iteratively refine the pamphlet until design saturation was reached.

RESULTS

We identified the following key themes and preferences: (1) Clear boundaries for engagement (e.g., parents would not be emptying the catheter); (2) Positive, actionable framing (e.g., what should proper catheter positioning look like?); (3) What to expect (e.g., is the catheter painful for my child?); (4) Parents considered both their and their child's comprehension of the content when providing feedback.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, we demonstrated the utility of remote participatory design methods in developing and refining a CAUTI prevention resource based on parents' preferences. Future research should consider adapting these methods and implementing formal evaluation for comprehension for eventual integration into clinical practice.