The use of animations and the ‘teach-back’ technique to facilitate an understanding of health literacy levels within the general community.
Abstract
Studies in Australia (1-3), the Unites States of America (4) and the Unites Kingdom (UK) (5, 6) show that less than half of all adults in these developed countries have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. It is therefore imperative that new health professionals have a clear understanding of the health literacy levels within the community and how to effectively communicate health messages to individuals with low health literacy.
This paper describes a scaffolded activity to promote an understanding of healthy literacy amongst undergraduate students and uses the ‘teach- back’ technique to enhance communication and understanding. The activity comprised of 4 key components; research the health literacy of the target audience through the use of a survey and subsequent literature review, construction of a storyboard and written audio script for a slowmation animation to communicate the health message, construction of a slowmation animation and ultimately gaining feedback on the animation from the target audience.
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