Health Literacy Assessment of Detained Individuals and Correctional Officers Within a Large Urban Jail: Optimizing Health Education

BACKGROUND: Little research has been done to address the health literacy level of detained individuals and correctional officers. PURPOSE: The aim of this pilot project was to describe the health literacy of individuals detained or working within a large urban jail to inform their health education. METHODS: Health literacy assessments were conducted using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-Short Form (REALM-SF) and the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) tools. RESULTS: Of the 48 participants, 17% (n = 8) exhibited low health literacy on the REALM-SF, whereas 38% (n = 18) demonstrated the need for improved health literacy when assessed with the NVS. Detained individuals from the women's tiers were more likely to have lower health literacy than the detained veterans or correctional officers. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that tailored health education programming, using evidence-based health literacy improvement techniques, should be offered to the individuals detained or working within a correctional facility.