Publications
Below is a selection of our publications.
Accounting for health literacy and intervention preferences when reducing unhealthy snacking: protocol for an online randomised controlled trial – Julie Ayre et al
Health literacy describes the cognitive and social skills that individuals use to access, understand and act on health information. Health literacy interventions typically take the ‘universal precautions approach’ where all consumers are presented with simplified materials. Although this approach can improve knowledge and comprehension, its [...]
Women’s health literacy and the complex decision-making process to use complementary medicine products in pregnancy and lactation – Larissa Barnes et al
Little is known about women's decision-making processes regarding using complementary medicine products (CMPs) during pregnancy or lactation. This study explores the decision-making processes of women choosing to use CMPs in pregnancy and lactation; and investigates how women's health literacy influences their decisions.
Resisting recommended treatment for prostate cancer: a qualitative analysis of the lived experience of possible overdiagnosis – Kirsten McCaffery et al
To describe the lived experience of a possible prostate cancer overdiagnosis in men who resisted recommended treatment. Reported experience of screening, diagnosis and treatment decision making, and its impact on psychosocial well-being, life and personal circumstances.
Availability and readability of patient education materials for deprescribing: An environmental scan – Michael Fajardo et al
This study aimed to identify and evaluate content and readability of freely available online deprescribing patient education materials (PEMs) and concluded that over 1/3 of deprescribing PEMs present potential benefits and harms of deprescribing indicating most of the freely available materials are not balanced. Most [...]
Development and pilot-testing of a colorectal cancer screening decision aid for individuals with varying health literacy levels – Annie Woudstra et al
Making an informed decision about colorectal cancer screening requires health literacy. Our aim was to develop and pilot-test a computer-based decision aid to support informed decision making about whether or not to participate in colorectal cancer screening for individuals with varying health literacy levels in [...]
Implementation of an organisation-wide health literacy approach to improve the understandability and actionability of patient information and education materials: A pre-post effectiveness study – Fiorina Mastroianni et al
Limited examples exist globally of coordinated, organisation-wide health literacy approaches to systematically improve the understandability and actionability of patient health information. Even fewer have been formally evaluated. The aim of this study was to use the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) to evaluate the [...]
A thematic analysis of attitudes toward changes to cervical screening in Australia – Rachael Dodd et al
In December 2017, the Australian National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) was changed to encompass a 5-yearly human papillomavirus (HPV) primary test for women aged 25 to 74 years. Public concerns about changes to screening programs has been demonstrated in other countries previously.
Favourable understandability, but poor actionability: An evaluation of online Type 2 diabetes risk calculators – Michael Fajardo et al
The study aim was to identify all freely available online diabetes risk calculators and to evaluate their suitability for patients with low health literacy. Online diabetes risk calculators are generally understandable, but not very actionable, and may not be completely suitable for use by patients [...]
Online decision aids for primary cardiovascular disease prevention: Systematic search, evaluation of quality, and suitability for low health literacy patients – Carissa Bonner et al
Recent guideline changes for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention medication have resulted in calls to implement shared decision-making rather than arbitrary treatment thresholds. Less attention has been paid to existing tools that could facilitate this. Decision aids are well-established tools that enable shared decision-making and have [...]
Could disease labelling have positive effects? An experimental study exploring the effect of the chronic fatigue syndrome label on intended social support – Samara Noble et al
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients report limited social support, which can affect symptom severity. Friends are a key source of social support for young adults with CFS, but there is limited research on friends' responses to the CFS label. We explored the potential benefits or [...]