Health Literacy and Cardiovascular Knowledge Workshop in Women From Disadvantaged Communities

The current health literacy (HL) pilot intervention was designed through focus groups with women in low socio-economic status (SES) communities. The primary HL issue identified was communication challenges at doctors' visits. As a unique HL intervention tailored to the participants' preferences, this intervention can serve as a model for improving HL in similar communities worldwide. Objectives include increasing the percentage of women who utilize patient-doctor communication skills and increasing their cardiovascular disease (CVD) knowledge. A unique HL intervention tailored to the participants' preferences was designed which consisted of three workshops conducted in municipality-sponsored women's groups in low SES Jerusalem communities. Questionnaires were 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 low SES women?