ArticleBMC medical education2025
A Delphi study on health literacy competencies for health professionals.
Article in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Translation and Assessment of Structural Validity and Internal Consistency of the Polish Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) in Health Professions Students.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- A Scoping Review on Technological Literacy in Biomedical Laboratory Science and Implications for Educational Development.Medical science educator · 2026Review
- Building the future of public health in Canada: A modified Delphi survey for updated core competencies.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2026Article
- Patient use, understanding, and behaviour toward patient information leaflets for medicines: a cross-sectional study of adults in Italy.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Development and empirical validation of a multi-criteria decision-making model for the assessment of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in high-exposure industrial settings.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Validation of health literacy competencies for healthcare professionals in Korea: a psychometric evaluation study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- A scoping review of measures to assess health professionals' competencies related to health literacy.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Tackling schistosomiasis in fisherfolk communities in Uganda: Enablers and challenges for implementing paediatric schistosomiasis mass drug administration from the perspective of district health authorities.Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025Article
- Process evaluation of a co-design and implementation study to improve professional health literacy in a regional care hospital (PIKoG): a mixed-methods study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHealth professionals play a key role in promoting health literacy, as they continue to be one of the main points of contact and most trusted source of information for healthcare users on questions and concerns regarding health and disease. To adequately support individuals in dealing with health information and services and to strengthen health literacy, health professionals need a corresponding set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, hence they need a wide range of health literacy competencies. Despite their crucial role in guiding and supporting patients and their relatives in terms of health-related information and services, in-depth studies on health literacy competencies of health professionals are still scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify and prioritize health literacy competencies of health professionals in German-speaking countries.
methodsA modified, two-round Delphi study was conducted with 24 experts in the field of health literacy or a relevant field from Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. The experts were asked to evaluate and rate different competencies of health professionals regarding health literacy.
resultsAs a result, 14 core competencies have been identified by the experts, including five items referring to the category "knowledge", seven items to the category "skills" and two items referring to the category "attitude". The identified competences indicate that health literate health professionals understand health literacy's importance, employ clear communication techniques, and actively engage patients to ensure comprehension. Furthermore, health literate health professionals recognize cultural barriers, use plain language, and maintain that effective communication is crucial for quality healthcare. Among the 14 core competencies, communication practices were reported to be of particular importance for practice-oriented, professional health literacy skills of health professionals.
conclusionsThe identified set of health literacy competencies provides an essential groundwork for future assessments of competencies concerning professional health literacy among health professionals, their integration into curricula, and further development of tailor-made trainings and education.
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