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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03973606

Assessment of the Health Literacy Among Arab Women in East Jerusalem

This is a two-stage study: The objective of the first stage is to explore health literacy (HL) needs and preferences of Arab women through conducting Focus Group Discussions (FGDs).

The second stage will employ conducting a HL intervention tailored to the participants' needs and preferences as presented in the FGDs. Objectives include increasing the percentage of women who utilize patient-doctor communication skills and increasing their cardiovascular disease (CVD) knowledge.The intervention consists of four sessions that will be conducted in municipality-sponsored women's groups in Jerusalem and other Arab communities. Questionnaires will be completed before and three months after the intervention. The study answers the following: Can HL workshops improve patient-doctor communication skills and CVD knowledge in Arab women.

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Key information

Conditions

Health Literacy Cardiovascular Diseases

Age range

18 year–85 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Beit-Safafa community center

Jerusalem, 95822, Israel

About this study

Arab women in Israel are at high risk of low health literacy due to lower levels of education and low socio-economic status. Health literacy (HL) refers to the skills and competencies enabling people to obtain and interpret health information and apply their knowledge to inform health-related decision-making. It's also defined as "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, understand, and process basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions".

The objective of the first stage of the study is to explore health literacy needs and preferences of Arab women through conducting Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with women in East Jerusalem. Six different focus groups will be conducted at three of the six municipality community centers in East Jerusalem. Participants will be recruited through identified community centers.

Each group will meet once for up to two hours. The study will be explained to them by an investigator who has been trained in the administration of focus groups, and they will be asked to sign a consent form. Discussions will be recorded without the names of the participants (they will be instructed not to use their names once the recording begins). At the end of the meeting, each participant will receive a bag and pamphlets with information regarding women's health.

The second stage will employ conducting a HL intervention tailored to the participants' needs and preferences as presented in the FGDs. Objectives include increasing the percentage of women who utilize patient-doctor communication skills and increasing their cardiovascular disease (CVD) knowledge.The intervention consists of four sessions that will be conducted in municipality-sponsored women's groups in Jerusalem and other Arab communities. Questionnaires will be completed before and three months after the intervention. The study answers the following: Can HL workshops improve patient-doctor communication skills and CVD knowledge in Arab women.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • All women aged 18-85 that attend and participate in the community's women's groups
  • They must speak Arabic

Exclusion criteria

  • Not in the age range of 18-85.
  • Do not speak Arabic.

Treatment and study plan

Heath literacy assessment in Arab women in East Jerusalem

Other

A 4-sessions intervention to increase the participant's self-efficacy when interacting with their physician and increase their cardiovascular health knowledge.

Other names: Health literacy workshop

Primary outcomes

  1. assessment of health literacy level and elucidate factors that will improve health literacy (barriers, incentives, etc.…) among Arab women in East Jerusalem

    Time frame: within 6 months

    The assessment will be done through conduction of focus groups. Focus groups will be audio- recorded, transcribed and analyzed using Systematic text condensation, a descriptive and explorative analysis strategy. Which consists of four steps: 1) total impression - from chaos to themes; 2) identifying and sorting meanings units - from themes to codes; 3) condensation - from code to meaning; 4) synthesizing - from condensation to descriptions and concepts. It is expected that six focus groups will be sufficient to achieve saturation of themes. If results are not sufficient, investigators will ask to increase the number of focus groups.

  2. Change in cardiovascular disease knowledge

    Time frame: At baseline and three months after intervention

    A self report questionnaire based on the American Heart Association's Cardiovascular, and assess the knowledge regarding heart attack symptoms, by answering yes/no to each item.

  3. Change in perceived efficacy in patient-physician interaction

    Time frame: At baseline and three months after intervention

    Will be assessed using the 10-item Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interaction (PEPPI) (Maly, Frank, Marshall, Diametteo, Reuben, 1998). Participants respond to each question on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing "very confident,'' and 1 representing "not at all confident". Higher scores represent positive outcome.

  4. Change in remembering doctor's recommendations and reading blood test results

    Time frame: At baseline and three months after intervention

    A 2-item version derived from the Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interaction (PEPPI). Participants respond to each question on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing "very confident,'' and 1 representing "not at all confident". Higher scores represent positive outcome.

  5. change in health literacy

    Time frame: At baseline and three months after intervention

    Will be assessed using the Health Literacy Survey-Europe-Q16 (HLS-EU-Q16) a 16 question research instrument adapted for use in Israel. Participants respond to each question on a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 representing "fairly easy,'' and 1 representing "very difficult". Higher scores represent positive outcome.

  6. Change in preparation for doctor's visit

    Time frame: At baseline and three months after intervention

    A 6-item questionnaire represents preferred actions that participant\\pants do before their doctor appointment. The more items are selected, the higher the score is, hence representing a positive outcome.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Self-Rated Status of Health (SRH)

    Time frame: At baseline and three months after intervention

    A validated single item health measure in which participants rate the current status of their own health on a five-point scale, from excellent to poor

  2. Change in perceived efficacy in reading and understanding the instruction for taking medications

    Time frame: At baseline and three months after intervention

    Participants will be asked "how confident do you feel you are able to follow the instructions on the label of a medication bottle?"

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Hadassah Medical Organization

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Jun 4, 2019
Registry last updated
Dec 22, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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