UCSD RELINK: Connecting Adults To Supportive Services

Health literacy refers to the skills needed to effectively access, understand, and use health resources. Inadequate health literacy annually costs the U.S. $100-$200 billion and is observed among justice involved adults (JIA)-a group of ~20 million U.S. persons who are disproportionately non-elderly and African American, Black, and Hispanic due to systemic racism and over-policing. JIA face numerous barriers in accessing healthcare which contributes to a high, lifelong burden of chronic and infectious disease. Healthcare access is defined as 1) having health insurance coverage, 2) having a regular source of care and 3) obtaining healthcare in a timely manner. Health literacy interventions for JIA are critically needed but are unavailable and NIH-funded research that is inclusive of JIA is sorely lacking. This timely study addresses these gaps. This study will implement a longitudinal mixed-methods randomized clinical trial (RCT) to assess the impact of the UCSD RELINK coach-guided health literacy intervention vs. a self-study control group on JIA's healthcare access. To achieve this aim, 300 JIA ages 18+ will be recruited in San Diego, CA and randomized 1:1 to the Treatment Group (i.e., coach-guided health literacy intervention) or the Control Group (i.e., self-study of the intervention). This study is timely and may inform health literacy interventions for JIA, policies to build health literacy among JIA in institutional and community settings, and the service delivery models for JIA. The proposed intervention has great potential for increasing health literacy among JIA and thus improving the well-being of this sizeable and underserved community. Findings from this study may also have relevance for interventions seeking to build the health literacy of other low-income communities.

Inclusion criteria

• Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
• Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study
• Persons, aged 18 and over
• Resident of San Diego County
• Not incarcerated at time of enrollment
• Justice involved in the past 3 years (on parole, probation, court diverted)
• Understands English
• Access to a cell phone

Exclusion criteria

• Under the age of 18 years old
• Not a resident of San Diego County
• Incarcerated at enrollment
• Not justice-involved within the last 3 years (i.e., not on probation or parole or was court-diverted in the past 3 years)
• No access to a cell phone
• Cannot provide informed consent
• Does not understand English
• Previously enrolled in the pilot UCSD RELINK program
• Adults who have current or prior convictions related to sexual violence/abuse (Penal Code [PC] 290), lewd acts with a child (PC 288), child abduction (PC 280), or arson (PC 451)