Pregnant Women's Health Literacy Promotion Strategies: A Review

Abstract

Background: Given the importance maternal health literacy (MHL) level in pregnancy outcome and maternal-child health, Investigating MHL promotion strategies is essential. To this end, the present study aimed to identify and report those interventions that conducted for improving MHL.
 Methods: A scoping literature search using PubMed, Web of Science, Social Science Research Network, CINAHL, Psych INFO, Magiran, Iran Medex, Iran Doc, SID and Google Scholar. This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram. Eligible studies were identified from English and Persian databases, published between 1990 and 2018. Studies were screened independently by two researchers who performed the data extraction.
 Results: On the basis of the studies’s intervention technique, 2 major health themes emerged:
 Group-based interventions (Antenatal classes, Small group teaching, The centering pregnancy model, Web-based discussion forums) and individual -based interventions (Counseling intervention, Web-based educations, The workbook and booklet, Multimedia approaches, Graphics-based tool, A theory-based training program).
 Conclusion: This review provides insights into existing strategies for MHL promotion. Health policy leaders and health system planners, should support the uptake of these approaches into usual prenatal care.

Effects of Access to Information on Health Literacy in Pregnant Women

“…This means that the program policies for these three aspects must be developed, carried out regularly and continuously, especially in the ability to make an assessment of the correct and appropriate information as needed, especially in groups. Interventions carried out to increase MHL using comprehensive methods and types of media have been shown to significantly increase access to information [15]. Evaluating intervention studies with group-based methods for antenatal classes, web-based small group teaching to find out the level of understanding, as well as interventions in the form of counseling, web-based education to find out the ability to make assessments correctly and appropriately.…”

Efficacy of Mobile App-Based Training on Health Literacy among Pregnant Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial study

“…One of these changes was the use of new communication tools to facilitate the transfer of information and improve the quality of training and learning [13]. One of the new training methods that are effective in reducing costs and eliminating barriers to access to services such as spatial and temporal factors was training through mobile apps [14].…”