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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Tifanie Hudgins, MPH, CHES, MPH Program, East Stroudsburg University, 200 Prospect St., East Stroudsburg, PA 18301, 570 422 3702, tifaniehudgins@yahoo.com

Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity, through communication, to understand health information and services and to make effective health decisions. Though research has documented the impact of health literacy on health outcomes, the relationship between real life situations, literacy levels and the development of health literacy is not well described. A biographical-phenomenological qualitative study was developed to explore the lives of urban, low-income women with low health literacy. Phenomenological approaches are effective at illuminating the experiences of individuals from their own perspectives and challenging normative assumptions. The study interviewees were a subgroup from several hundred women enrolled in a longitudinal cohort study on Racial Disparities in Infant Health through the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Participants completed health literacy assessments for the infant health project. Ten women, with very low health literacy scores, were eligible for this qualitative study. These women ranged in age from 19 to 46 years, 8 were African American. Each 2 hour interview was transcribed. A two -phase thematic analysis provided insights into the following: acquired life skills that allowed these women to maintain a functional existence even with low health literacy; past experiences with the healthcare system “mistakes” that influenced interactions with health care providers; and, the resiliency displayed by these women. Childhood experiences, parenting skills and styles, general well being, and desire for a better life and job provide additional insights into their lives. These findings, and their relevance for health literacy, will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: