Derivation, Evaluation, and Validation of Illustrations of Key Counselling Points for a Pediatric Eczema Action Plan

Validation of pharmaceutical pictograms among older adults with limited English proficiency

OBJECTIVE

Pictograms on prescription medication labels enhance medication literacy and medication adherence. However, pictograms need to be contextually validated. We assessed the validity of 52 International Pharmaceutical Federation pictograms among 250 older Singaporeans with limited English proficiency.

METHODS

Participants were randomly assigned 11 pictograms each. For each pictogram, participants were first asked its intended meaning. Then, they were told the intended meaning and asked to rate how well the pictogram represented the meaning, on a scale of 1-7. Pictograms were classified as valid (≥66% participants assigned the pictogram interpreted its intended meaning correctly [transparency criterion] and ≥85% participants rated its representativeness as ≥5 [translucency criterion]), partially valid (only transparency criterion was fulfilled) or not valid. Open-ended questions gathered feedback to improve pictograms.

RESULTS

14 pictograms (26.9%) achieved validity and 6 pictograms (11.5%) achieved partial validity. A greater proportion of pictograms for dose and route of administration, and dosage frequency achieved validity or partial validity versus those depicting precautions, indications or side effects.

CONCLUSION

Majority (61.5%) of the assessed pictograms did not achieve validity or partial validity, highlighting the importance of contextual validation.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Low pictogram comprehension emphasizes the importance of facilitating pictogram understanding during medication counseling.

A Scoping Review on How to Make Hospitals health Literate Healthcare Organizations

The concept of health literacy is increasingly being recognised as not just an individual trait, but also as a characteristic related to families, communities, and organisations providing health and social services. The aim of this study is to identify and describe, through a scoping review approach, the characteristics and the interventions that make a hospital a health literate health care organisation (HLHO), in order to develop an integrated conceptual model. We followed Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage scoping review framework, refined with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, to identify the research questions, identify relevant studies, select studies, chart the data, and collate and summarize the data. Of the 1532 titles and abstracts screened, 106 were included. Few studies have explored the effect of environmental support on health professionals, and few outcomes related to staff satisfaction/perception of helpfulness have been reported. The most common types of interventions and outcomes were related to the patients. The logical framework developed can be an effective tool to define and understand priorities and related consequences, thereby helping researchers and policymakers to have a wider vision and a more homogeneous approach to health literacy and its use and promotion in healthcare organizations.