Testing Impact of Health Literacy in AL and IFA Programs

描述(由申请人提供)：1993年全国成人识字调查报告称，超过4000万美国成年人是功能性文盲。关于识字与健康的研究表明，识字率低与健康状况差之间存在很强的联系。因此，提高健康素养，即“阅读、理解卫生保健信息并对其采取行动的能力”，对文化程度较低的人群非常重要。这项研究将测试综合家庭方法扫盲(IFA)的相对优点，甚至开始计划(成人)与传统的成人扫盲(AL)计划。此外，研究设计和理论指导的健康素养课程将提高伊利诺伊州参与者的素养和健康素养成果。关于IFA与AL计划的相对优劣，科学文献中存在着根本的差距。这项研究将通过从伊利诺伊州53个地点选择的随机研究设计对IFA和AL方法进行经验性测试，以解决文献中的关键问题。将在AL/IFA条件下为以其他语言为英语的人(ESOL)和以英语为母语的人(ABE/ASE)开发和测试单独但内容相同的健康素养课程。将利用伊利诺伊州要求的既定扫盲措施来衡量扫盲成果，以及根据计划行动理论、社会认知理论和课程保真度和实施过程措施制定的其他措施(从课程中)。四个基本的教育假设将被检验：(1)IFA将被证明比AL计划更有效地满足成人扫盲需求，(2)包括健康素养部分的成人扫盲课程将被证明比不包括健康素养部分的成人扫盲课程在提高成人扫盲方面更有效，(3)使用健康素养课程的IFA计划将比使用相同课程的AL计划或使用标准AL课程的计划更有效地提高扫盲，以及(4)在ESOL计划中，当使用相同的健康素养课程时，IFA将被证明比传统的AL计划更有效地提高成人识字能力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The 1993 National Adult Literacy Survey reported that over 40 million U.S. adults were functionally illiterate. Research on literacy and health suggests a strong relationship between low literacy and poor health status. Improving health literacy, the "ability to read, understand, and act on health care information," is therefore of great importance to low literate populations. This research will test the relative merit of the Integrated Family Approach Literacy (IFA) Even Start programs (with adults) to the Traditional Adult Literacy (AL) programs. In addition, the research design and theoretically directed health literacy curriculum will enhance both literacy and health literacy outcomes in Illinois participants. Fundamental gaps exist in the scientific literature regarding the relative merit of IFA v. AL programs. This study will address key issues in the literature by empirically testing the IFA and AL approaches using a randomized study design selected from 53 sites in Illinois. Separate but content equivalent health literacy curricula will be developed and tested, under both AL/IFA conditions for English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and native English speakers (ABE/ASE). Established literacy measures required by the State of Illinois will be utilized to measure literacy gains, as well as other measures developed (from curriculum) based on Theory of Planned Action, Social Cognitive Theory, and process measures of curriculum fidelity and implementation. Four fundamental educational assumptions will be tested: (1) the IFA will prove more effective in addressing adult literacy needs than AL programs, (2) adult literacy curricula that include a health literacy component will prove more effective in improving adult literacy than adult literacy curricula that do not include a health literacy component, (3) IFA programs using a health literacy curriculum will be more effective in improving literacy than AL programs using the same curriculum or programs using a standard AL curriculum, and (4) in ESOL programs, the IFA will prove more effective in improving adult literacy than traditional AL programs when using the same health literacy curriculum.