The effectiveness of health literacy interventions on health-related outcomes among socioeconomically disadvantaged adults living in the community: a systematic review protocol

REVIEW QUESTION/OBJECTIVE The overall objective of this systematic review is to identify and synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of health literacy interventions in socioeconomically disadvantaged people living in the community to improve health-related outcomes. More specifically, the objectives of this systematic review are to identify and synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of single or complex health literacy interventions in enabling socioeconomically disadvantaged people living in the community to access, understand, appraise and apply health information. INCLUSION CRITERIA Types of participants This review will consider studies that include adults aged 18 years or over, male and female, of any ethnicity and cultural group, and who are socially or socioeconomically disadvantaged in the community. PROGRESS factors, including Place of residence, Race/ethnicity - culture - language, Occupation, Gender, Religion, Education, Socio economic status, Social capital or age, will serve to identify “disadvantaged” people and social groups. These are “socially stratifying factors that drive variations in health outcomes” and contribute to disparities in health. For example, people living in rural areas, from a minority group, with low education or low income, are considered as disadvantaged and are at risk of health disparities. In this review, studies considering any or several of these factors will be considered for inclusion. In this review, studies conducted in any community setting will be considered, such as community centers, community preventive services, community-based health promotion settings, community healthcare facilities, primary healthcare centers, homes or worksite settings. Exclusion criteria: studies involving children aged under 18 years TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS