Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Raymond Panas

Abstract

The U.S. health care system is evolving from medical centric to patient centered, augmenting the importance for patients to comprehend and process medical information. The Department of Education indicated that 77 million Americans have a basic or below basic health literacy proficiency and 12% register as health literacy proficient. Animation is a time-tested device for improving health by enhancing comprehension. Chronic constipation (CC) complexity entails physiological, anatomical, and environmental mechanisms. Using the cognitive theory of multimedia learning and dual-channel auditory and visual processing, the primary research question addressed whether an animated educational video improved health literacy for CC more than a traditional written educational pamphlet. A secondary dataset of 100 CC subjects from the University of Michigan was collected using a cross-sectional study design with a convenience sampling strategy of CC patients who underwent anorectal functional testing. Dependent variables were CC Pretest Quiz and CC Posttest Quiz scores, and independent variables included CC education intervention, demographics, health literacy proficiency, and environmental learning variables. Descriptive and analytical statistical methods were employed for data summarization and comparison. The animated educational video had minimal impact (p = 0.20) on improving health literacy; however, pretest scores (p -?¤ 0.001), age (p = 0.03) and highest level of education achievement (p = 0.03) influenced the largest variance between quiz scores. Enhancing health literacy influences social change by empowering individuals with CC to improve quality of life metrics, increase work productivity, and decrease health care utilization costs.

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