Exploring the impact of health literacy on pregnant women from ethnic minority groups: A scoping review
2024

Impact of Health Literacy on Pregnant Women from Ethnic Minority Groups

Sample size: 19 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Sarah E. Feldman, Laure Lennox, Natasha Dsouza, Keivan Armani

Primary Institution: Imperial College London

Hypothesis

How does health literacy of BAME pregnant women impact maternal health outcomes and patient experience?

Conclusion

The review highlights inadequate health literacy among BAME pregnant women and the potential of digital health interventions to improve their health outcomes.

Supporting Evidence

  • BAME women face higher maternal mortality rates compared to white women.
  • Digital health interventions can improve health literacy among BAME pregnant women.
  • Lower health literacy is linked to poorer health outcomes in pregnancy.

Takeaway

This study shows that pregnant women from ethnic minority groups often don't understand health information well, which can lead to worse health outcomes. We need to help them learn more about their health.

Methodology

A scoping review using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, analyzing 19 studies on health literacy and maternal health outcomes.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to the focus on specific ethnic groups and the variability in health literacy measurement methods.

Limitations

The review is limited by the diversity of included studies and potential biases in participant selection.

Participant Demographics

The studies included pregnant women from various ethnic minority groups, primarily BAME populations.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0312515

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