Culturally Adapted eHealth Literacy Training Program
Culturally Adapted eHealth Literacy Training Program: A structured, culturally adapted educational intervention aimed at improving eHealth literacy, health literacy, and self-management skills in Bangladeshi patients with type 2 diabetes. The training was co-designed with patients, family/community members, and healthcare stakeholders during a preparatory phase, based on the OPHELIA methodology and the ACCESS training model. It consists of 4 modules delivered in person at the diabetes center over 8 weeks (1 module every 15 days, approximately 120 minutes each), combining didactic teaching and interactive/practical sessions, with the support of a cultural mediator and diabetic peers. Topics include: type 2 diabetes awareness and management; principles of health literacy and eHealth literacy; use of digital health apps and tools; usability of technological devices and online health services; and self-evaluation of acquired knowledge and skills.
Study summary
This study is testing a training program for people from the Bangladeshi community of Ancona in the Marche Region (Italy) who have type 2 diabetes. Many people in this group find it hard to understand health information, including how to use digital health tools. This is called low health literacy. Low health literacy can make it harder to manage diabetes well.
The goal of this study is to find out if the training program improves health literacy and confidence in managing diabetes.
About 50 adults with type 2 diabetes from the Bangladeshi community are taking part. They are followed by the diabetes clinic at the University Hospital of the Marche Region in Ancona.
Before training started, patients, caregivers, and health workers helped design the program together. This made sure the training fit the community's needs and culture.
Participants complete a training program with four short modules. The modules cover diabetes, health literacy, and digital skills for managing diabetes.
Researchers measure health literacy, digital skills, and confidence in managing diabetes before training, right after training, and again after 1 month and 6 months. This shows whether the improvements last over time.
This study is part of JACARDI, a European project working to reduce diabetes and heart disease across Europe.
Eligibility
Sex
ALL
Min age
18 Years
Max age
—
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion Criteria:
* belonging to Bangladesh ethnicity
* affected by DM type 2 (as confirmed by the physician's diagnosis)
* Followed by the CAD of the capital province of Marche Region, Ancona, located in Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria delle Marche
* aged \>= 18 years old
* Capable of communicating verbally in local language (corresponding to a level of Italian language knowledge =\>A2-CEFR level) (Council of Europe, 1996)
* without acute medical problems: myocardial infarction or stroke within 6 months, painful arthritis, spinal stenosis, amputation, painful foot lesions or neuropathy limiting balance and mobility, advanced Parkinson's disease and/or neuromuscular disorders, metastatic cancer, or immunosuppressive therapy, significant visual or hearing impairment, uncontrolled hypertension or other serious conditions that restrict their participation in the study.
* MMSE\>= 24 (Folstein et al. 1975)
* PHQ-9=\< 15 (Kroenke et al. 2001)
* with a low HL level, assessed by a scoring \<=12 of HLS-EU-Q16 (Pelikan et al. 2017) and/or with low e-HL level, measured through e-HEALS (Norman \& Skinner, 2006-II), assessed by a scoring \<=29, and/or with low levels in self-efficacy, measured IT-DMSES (Messina et al. 2018), assessed by a scoring \<4.
* capable to consent
* fulfilling the informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
* Failure to meet the inclusion criteria;
* Concomitant participation in other studies;
* Lack of written informed consent.
Primary outcome measure(s)
Improvement of ehealth literacy among Bangladeshi type 2 diabetes patients — Baseline (T0), end of intervention at 8 weeks (T1), 1-month follow-up (T2), and 6-month follow-up (T3) eHealth literacy will be assessed using the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS), an 8-item measure of consumers' combined knowledge, comfort, and perceived skills in finding, evaluating, and applying electronic health information to health problems. The scale assesses the ability to access and use internet health information (items 1-5), judgment ability (items 6-7), and decision-making ability (item 8). Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), with total scores ranging from 8 to 40; higher scores indicate greater eHealth literacy. The scale will be administered as a self-reported, paper-based tool, with support from a cultural mediator when needed, at baseline, at the end of the training intervention, and at 1-month and 6-month follow-up.
Trial sites (1)
Facility
City
Region
Status
Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria delle Marche (AOU Marche)
Ancona
March
More Marche Region Regional Health Agency trials in Italy
This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.
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