DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v12i1.42697

Health Literacy-Related Knowledge and Experience among Nurses Practicing in Medical-Surgical Wards

Sadeq Al-Fayyadh  -  University of Baghdad, Iraq
*Mohammed Baqer Al-Jubouri orcid publons  -  University of Baghdad, Iraq
Hayder AL-Hadrawi  -  University of Kufa, Iraq
Sabah Abdullah Jaafar  -  Al-Muthanna University, Iraq
Shaymaa Mohammed Hussein  -  Al-Muthanna University, Iraq
Open Access Copyright (c) 2022 Nurse Media Journal of Nursing
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Abstract

Background: Medical-surgical nurses are responsible of providing competent care to clients with a wide-array of acute and chronic health problems. This challenging task requires arming nurses with advanced competencies of health literacy to effectively educate their clients. However, evidence about medical-surgical nurse’s health literacy-related knowledge and experience is limited.  

Purposes: This study aimed to determine the level of the health literacy-related knowledge and experience among medical-surgical nurses.

Design: A descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted among a total sample of 177 nurses who were practicing in medical-surgical wards in teaching hospitals in Iraq. A convenience sampling method was used to select the participants. Data were collected using the Health Literacy Knowledge and Experiences Survey-2 (HLKES-2). Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used for data analysis.

Results: The majority of nurses (92.3%) had a low level of knowledge regarding health literacy and more than half of the participants (58.7%) had an acceptable level of experience.

Conclusion: Nurses’ information about health literacy needs to be updated via continuous education to enhance their knowledge and practice regarding this aspect.
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Keywords: Adult nursing; adult patient education; health communication; health literacy assessment; nurse’s knowledge

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