Abstract
Health literacy is one's ability to find, comprehend, and use information to make health decisions. Nursing students are exposed to health literacy during degree programs, yet no formal education exists across prelicensure associate and baccalaureate curricula. This lack of standardization contributes to poor provider performance and low health literacy rates, leading to suboptimal outcomes. About 80 million Americans have limited health literacy, increasing vulnerability to poor care and outcomes. Since the 1990s, limited health literacy has been linked to preventable admissions.
A multidatabase search (CINAHL, ERIC, MEDLINE) using key terms identified 12 full-text articles analyzing education quality in health literacy and patient education.
Studies show benefits from multimodal health literacy education. Students had foundational skills but limited faculty and curricular support.
Future research should examine standardized curricula and long-term effects on student self-efficacy and patient education.