Presence of Community Resources and Its Effect on Health Literacy
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Emilie Dykstra Goris, PhD, RN, Hope College Department of Nursing, Susanne Brooks, MSN, BS, OCN, ACCNS-AG2, Spectrum Health
Document Type
Poster
Event Date
4-21-2017
Abstract
Health literacy (HL) is one of many factors that impacts self-efficacy within healthcare. However, there is limited research on the presence of community resources and their impact on HL. The purpose of this research project was to identify relationships between the number of community resources and the HL rates of a given zip code. Bandura’s Self-Efficacy theory supports the idea that cognitive factors, such as HL, affect one’s self-efficacy. The sample size of this study was 125, with a majority (72%, n = 90) from eight Grand Rapids zip codes. There were 41.6% (n = 52) males and 58.4% (n = 73) females, with the majority (40.8%, n = 51) being 71 years or older. The majority (31.2% n = 39) reached a high school or GED level of education. The six most reoccurring cities, associated with 14 zip codes, were investigated for the presence of specific community resources: libraries, fitness centers, colleges/universities, and private health clinics. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 23 using descriptive and Kruskal-Wallis test statistics. The 14 zip codes varied in their HL rates. The findings of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant relationships between community resources and HL rates (χ² = 4.093, df = 7, p = 0.769). Therefore, community resources were not found to have a relationship with HL rates. Limitations include a small sample size, cities located relatively close, and lack of knowledge regarding usage of community resources. Implications include proper nursing assessment of HL and community interventions to improve HL resources.
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Comments
This research was supported by Spectrum Health.