Health literacy and college students

Introduction: Health literacy impacts one's ability to access and understand health information. While undergraduate students are beginning to manage their own health care, little is known about health literacy in this population.

Methods: This study included a sample of 114 undergraduate students ages 18 to 29 (mean=19.5). Each student answered a self-administered survey which asked about demographics and use and understanding of health information. I also administered three literacy assessment tools: the Newest Vital Sign (NVS), Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA), and Rapid Esimate of Adolescent Literacy in Medicine (REALM-Teen).

Results: For the 32 respondents (26%) in the lower health literacy group, these students reported having greater trouble understanding health information, such as written instructions, and also indicated they required assistance from others with some tasks. In addition, students with lower literacy were less likely to rate the internet as an easy health information source.

Conclusions: Although a majority of students in the sample scored well on literacy assessment tools, I found that different instruments provided varying results. I also found that students with lower literacy reported issues with certain tasks, and had different preferences for health information seeking. Assessing health literacy of college students, and understanding issues students with low health literacy may have, is important for developing new programs, some of which could help students develop skills to become better able to manage their health. Ideas for future research and interventions will be discussed.