Publications
Below is a selection of our publications.
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 [...]
Shared decision-making about cardiovascular disease medication in older people: a qualitative study of patient experiences in general practice – Jesse Jansen et al
To explore older people's perspectives and experiences with shared decision-making about medication for cardiovascular disease prevention.
Public perceptions of changing the terminology for low-risk thyroid cancer: a qualitative focus group study – Brooke Nickel et al
To investigate public perceptions of overdiagnosis and overtreatment in low-risk thyroid cancer and explore opinions regarding the proposed strategy to change the terminology of low-risk cancers.
Distributed health literacy in the maternal health context in Vietnam – Shannon McKinn et al
Previous health literacy research has often focused on individual functional health literacy, ignoring the cultural contexts through which many people experience health care. We aimed to explore the nature of maternal health literacy among ethnic minority women in a low-resource setting in Vietnam.
Factors for supporting primary care physician engagement with patient apps for type 2 diabetes self-management that link to primary care: interview study – Julie Ayre et al
The health burden of type 2 diabetes can be mitigated by engaging patients in two key aspects of diabetes care: self-management and regular contact with health professionals. There is a clear benefit to integrating these aspects of care into a single clinical tool, and as [...]
Randomised trial of planning tools to reduce unhealthy snacking: implications for health literacy – Julie Ayre et al
Guidance to address health literacy often focuses on health education rather than tools to facilitate action, despite action being important for self-management. This study evaluated an online intervention informed by health literate design principles and behaviour change theory to reduce unhealthy snacking.