An exploratory pilot study on health education program to improve health literacy among female in their 20s

OBJECTIVE: Health literacy (HL) is one of the most important concepts in women’s healthcare. The low cervical cancer screening rate for young Japanese women is an urgent issue. Cervical cancer is preventable, and cervical cancer screening behavior is associated with HL. Therefore, the present study aimed to elucidate the effects of a health education program to improve HL among young female undergraduate students in Japan. Immediately after completing the program, participants evaluated their level of satisfaction with and the level of difficulty of the program, their understanding of the educational materials, and the length of the curriculum. Furthermore, 1 month after completing the program, participants evaluated their overall HL and their knowledge of women’s health, and indicated whether they had undergone cervical cancer screening. RESULTS: Thirteen female undergraduate students in their 20s participated. All participants indicated high levels of satisfaction and understanding of the material, and an appropriate level of difficulty of the curriculum. Three participants indicated that the program was too long. All participants had improved HL and knowledge of women’s health after completing the education program, but no significant difference was observed in the cervical cancer screening rate. Trial registration UMINR000036690 April 10, 2018 retrospectively registered