Browsing by Author "Weinert, Clarann"

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Be Wise: A complementary and alternative medicine health literacy skill-building programme
(SAGE Publications, 2021-04) Weinert, Clarann; Nichols, Elizabeth; Shreffler-Grant, Jean
Background: Health literacy has been found to be the strongest predictor of health status; and without adequate health literacy, consumers may not understand/adequately evaluate the myriad of choices available. Older rural residents tend to use self-prescribed complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies and glean information about these therapies primarily by word of mouth/media. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to describe the Be Wise health literacy skill building programme and the participants’ evaluation of the programme. Design: The programme involved four sessions delivered over 7 weeks at seniors’ centres in rural communities. Method: Data were collected initially (N = 127), at the end of the sessions (N = 67) and after 5 months (N = 52). Setting: Participants were primarily rural Caucasian women, mean age 76 years, and most had an associate/baccalaureate degree. Results: Questions were worded to ascertain satisfaction with the programme, usefulness of the information provided, willingness to recommend the programme, and the likelihood of using the programme. All scores were most favourable ranging from 3.35 to 4.41 on a 5-point scale. A question regarding the usefulness of the Be Wise programme in managing health received at mean score of 3.55 on a 5-point scale. Written comments on the questionnaires were overwhelmingly favourable. Conclusion: Delivering programmes to older adults in small rural communities has special challenges and rewards. Participants were enthusiastic about learning more about making informed health care choices. There is a compelling need for continued programme development and long-term outcomes evaluation.
Bee SAFE, a Skill-Building Intervention to Enhance CAM Health Literacy: Lessons Learned
(2017-04) Shreffler-Grant, Jean; Nicholas, Elizabeth G.; Weinert, Clarann
The purpose is to describe a feasibility study of a skill-building intervention to enhance health literacy about complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies among older rural adults and share lessons learned. A study was designed to examine the feasibility of an intervention to enhance CAM health literacy. The theme was \Bee SAFE\" for Be a wise user of CAM, Safety, Amount, From where, and Effect. Modules were presented face to face and by webinar with older adults at a senior center in one small rural community. The team achieved its purpose of designing, implementing, and evaluating the intervention and assessing if it could be implemented in a rural community. The implementation challenges encountered and lessons learn are discussed. By improving CAM health literacy, older rural adults with chronic health conditions can make well-reasoned decisions about using CAM for health promotion and illness management. The goal is to implement the Bee SAFE intervention in other rural communities; thus team members were attentive to lessons to be learned before investing time, effort, and expense in the larger intervention. It is hoped that the lessons learned can be instructive to others planning projects in rural communities."
Principal components analysis to identify influences on research communication and engagement during an environmental disaster
(2016-08) Winters, Charlene A.; Moore, Colleen F.; Kuntz, Sandra W.; Weinert, Clarann; Hernandez, Tanis; Black, Brad
OBJECTIVES: To discern community attitudes towards research engagement in Libby, Montana, the only Superfund site for which a public health emergency has been declared. STUDY DESIGN: Survey study of convenience samples of residents near the Libby, Montana Superfund site. PARTICIPANTS: Residents of the Libby, Montana area were recruited from a local retail establishment (N=120, survey 1) or a community event (N=127, survey 2). MEASURES: Two surveys were developed in consultation with a Community Advisory Panel. RESULTS: Principal components of survey 1 showed four dimensions of community members' attitudes towards research engagement: (1) researcher communication and contributions to the community, (2) identity and affiliation of the researchers requesting participation, (3) potential personal barriers, including data confidentiality, painful or invasive procedures and effects on health insurance and (4) research benefits for the community, oneself or family. The score on the first factor was positively related to desire to participate in research (r=0.31, p=0.01). Scores on factors 2 and 3 were higher for those with diagnosis of asbestos-related disease (ARD) in the family (Cohen's d=0.41, 0.57). Survey 2 also found more positive attitudes towards research when a family member had ARD (Cohen's d=0.48). CONCLUSIONS: Principal components analysis shows different dimensions of attitudes towards research engagement. The different dimensions are related to community members' desire to be invited to participate in research, awareness of past research in the community and having been screened or diagnosed with a health condition related to the Superfund contaminant.
Psychometric evaluation of the MSU CAM health literacy scale
(2019-02) Weinert, Clarann; Shreffler-Grant, Jean; Nicholas, Elizabeth G.
Background/Purpose: The rise in the use of alternative health care approaches (CAM) increases the need for adequate health literacy. The MSU Health Literacy Scale was developed to measure CAM health literacy. Psychometric evaluation of the scale is presented in this article. Methods: A test retest design was utilized and data from this instrument evaluation research project were used to explore the validity and several forms of reliability of the MSU Health Literacy Scale. The data analysis was based on the scores of 241 individuals at the T1 data collection and the scores of 188 at the T2 administration of the instrument. Results: There were significant correlations between the MSU CAM Health Literacy Scale and Newest Vital Sign (r = 0.330 p = .000) and with a single question health literacy measure (r = .255 (p = .000). Cronbach\'s alphas were adequate for each administration of the scale (T1 = .774 and T2 = .754). The correlation of scores between the T1 administration and the T2 administration were significant (r = .696 (p = .000). Conclusions: This psychometric evaluation provides confirmation of convergent validity and stable reliability. The scale can be used in future research and clinical endeavors.