Communication Skills to Promote Health Literacy as Perceived by Nursing Students in the Southern Nursing College Network

Abstract

This descriptive research aimed; 1) to study communication skills to promote health literacy as perceived by nursing students, 2) to compare communication skills to promote health literacy as perceived by nursing students classified by year of study, and institutions. Sample consisted of 400 nursing students in years 2-4 studying in the first semester of academic year 2020, in the Southern Nursing College Network. Stratified random sampling was applied. The research instrument was a questionnaire. Its content validity was confirmed; the content validity index (CVI) was equal to 0.89. Reliability of the questionnaire was tested by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient yielding a value of 0.91. Data were collected via on-line using Google Form during the period of March - July 2020. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and one-way ANOVA.

The research results revealed that overall communication skills to promote health literacy as perceived by nursing students in the Southern Nursing College Network was at a high level (M=3.81, SD=0.67). And when classified by year, it was found that their communication skills to promote health literacy was at a high level as well. The second-year nursing students had the highest mean score (M=3.86, SD=0.68), while the third- year, and fourth-year students had similar mean scores (M=3.78, SD=0.65 and M=3.79, SD=0.68, respectively). When classified by educational institution, it was found that Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Trang had the highest mean score (M=3.85, SD=0.49), followed by Boromarajonani College of Nursing Yala (M=3.84, SD=0.46), and the lowest was Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Songkhla (M=3.75, SD=0.46).  When comparing the communication skills to promote health literacy as perceived by nursing students classified by the year of study, and educational institutions, it was found that the communication skills to promote health literacy as perceived by nursing students were not different (p> .05).

 Communication skills should be more developed in each area for ​​students, including 1) techniques for using images to convey meaning (Infographic) consisting of key massage, 2) show-me technique, 3) teach-back technique, 4) use of important questions (Ask me 3) including using language that simple and clear explanation, questioning, using the model, and the use of other media by focusing on organizing activities to develop communication skills to enhance health knowledge in various forms such as lectures, demonstrations, skills training, etc.