A pilot project to increase health literacy among youth from seasonal farmworker families in rural eastern North Carolina: a qualitative exploration of implementation and impact

Abstract

Objective: There are substantial health inequalities for seasonal agricultural workers and their families in the United States. One identified inequality is in health literacy. The authors explored the implementation and impact of connecting youth from seasonal farmworker families who participated in a leadership and college pipeline program with Internet access by providing a tablet with a paid cellular data plan and university library–based health literacy training.Methods: With the support of a National Network of Libraries of Medicine Health Information Outreach Award, we conducted a qualitative, utilization-focused evaluation by conducting semi-structured interviews from December 2017 through February 2018 with middle and high school age participants in the program (n=10). After parental consent and youth assent, we recorded interviews with participants at program activity locations or in their homes. We then utilized inductive thematic analysis with 2 primary coders.Results: We identified four themes: (1) having access to the Internet can be transformative, (2) access resulted in increased knowledge of and interest in one’s own and others’ health, (3) “Google” is the norm, and (4) participant training increased self-efficacy to determine credible sources and resources.Conclusion: Providing Internet access and iPads was possible to implement and resulted in increased utilization of health information. The combination of Internet access with training on information literacy was a key factor in achieving these positive outcomes. The findings suggest the importance of ensuring equitable access to the Internet in efforts to improve educational and health outcomes for seasonal farmworkers and their families.

Spanish-Speaking Parents’ Experiences Accessing Academic Medical Center Care: Barriers, Facilitators and Technology Use

“…In addition to patient portals, HIT use has the potential to bridge communication gaps experienced by caregivers in this study. For example, providing electronic tablets and health literacy information increased health knowledge, 31 and text messaging interventions are associated with reduced pediatric emergency room utilization and increased influenza vaccine uptake among infants of Spanish-speaking caregivers. 32 As noted previously, bridging the digital divide will likely require multiple HIT strategies by health care organizations to meet the needs of patients with limited English proficiency.…”

The role of information literacy in secondary education: a transformative element of society

“…Rozvinutá informační gramotnost představuje cestu jak k úspěšnému fungování v běžné životě (Aillerie & McNicol, 2018;Yosida, 2018), tak v oblasti pracovní (Nzomo & Fehrmann, 2020). Odráží se ale také na schopnosti reflektovat a vyhodnocovat informace týkající se zdraví (Camiling, 2019;Mendez et al, 2019).…”

“…V tomto ohledu opět můžeme říct, že rozvoj informační gramotnosti by mělo představovat klíčové téma v oblasti sociálně pedagogické politiky jednotlivých států. Vážné problémy mají totiž především ti, kteří disponují nižším sociálním a kulturním kapitálem (Mendez et al, 2019).…”

Coronavirus pandemic highlights critical gaps in rural Internet access for migrant and seasonal farmworkers: a call for partnership with medical libraries

“…In a 2017-2018 pilot project with youth from seasonal farmworker families in central NC, half of participants did not have Internet access at home [16]. The importance of having Internet access is highlighted during this global pandemic, given that access to up-to-date information from reputable sources can mean the difference between stemming the spread of coronavirus or accelerating the rate of illness and death among groups who are most vulnerable [17].…”

“…In a separate project funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, SAF partnered with East Carolina University's Department of Health Education and Promotion and Joyner Library to provide health information literacy training, iPads, and cellular data service to middle and high school students from farmworker families who were participating in a leadership development and college access program. The evaluation noted the substantial impact on the students of gaining Internet access for homework and access to health information [16].…”