Numeracy Education for Health Care Providers: A Scoping Review.

INTRODUCTION: Health numeracy (numerical literacy) refers to an individual's ability to use numerical information to make effective health decisions. Numeracy is fundamental in the role of a health care provider, forming the basis of evidence-based medicine and effective patient-provider communication. Despite a high level of education, many health care providers struggle with numeracy. Numeracy is often integrated into training curricula; however, teaching modality, competencies covered, learner satisfaction, and effectiveness of these educational interventions varies. METHOD: A scoping review was conducted to explore and summarize what is known about numeracy skills education programs for health care providers. A comprehensive literature search was conducted from January 2010 to April 2021 in 10 databases. Controlled vocabulary terms and text words were used. The search was restricted to human studies, adults, and the English language. Articles were included if they were related to numeracy education for health care providers or trainees and provided details regarding methods, evaluation, and results. RESULTS: The literature search retrieved 31,611 results and 71 met the inclusion criteria. Most interventions were conducted in a university setting, and targeted nursing students, medical students, resident physicians, and pharmacy students. Common numeracy concepts included statistics/biostatistics, medication calculations, evidence-based medicine, research methodology, and epidemiology. A variety of teaching modalities were used, which most often combined active approaches (eg, workshops, laboratories, small-group exercises, and discussion boards) with passive approaches (eg, traditional lectures and didactic teaching). Measured outcomes included knowledge and skills, self-efficacy, attitudes, and engagement. DISCUSSION: Although efforts have been made to incorporate numeracy into training curricula, greater emphasis should be placed on developing strong numeracy skills in health care providers, particularly given the role numerical information plays in clinical decision making, evidence-based practices, and patient-provider communication.

Associations of Health Literacy and Health Outcomes Among Populations with Limited Language Proficiency: A Scoping Review.

Populations with limited language proficiency (LLP) experience difficulties understanding health information and accessing care. This study aimed to explore health literacy and LLP by examining the published literature on the barriers and facilitators to health care. METHODS: A scoping review of studies with populations in countries and regions where they have LLP in the locally dominant language was conducted. RESULTS: One-hundred and forty-three (143) articles met eligibility criteria. Most studies were conducted in North America (n = 99, 69.2%) and the primary language of study participants was Spanish (n = 32; 22.4%). Limited language proficiency was associated with low health literacy. Age was a consistent predictor of LLP, while education was predictive of low health literacy. Low health literacy was associated with poorer health outcomes. DISCUSSION: This review synthesizes the existing research regarding populations with LLP and their health literacy, demonstrating the importance that the intersection between the two has on patient experiences and behaviors.

Synthesis of Existent Oncology Curricula for Primary Care Providers: A Scoping Review With a Global Equity Lens.

PURPOSE: Global increases in cancer, coupled with a shortage of cancer specialists, has led to an increasing role for primary care providers (PCP) in cancer care. This review aimed to examine all extant cancer curricula for PCPs and to analyze the motivations for curriculum development. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted from inception to October 13, 2021, with no language restrictions. The initial search yielded 11,162 articles and 10,902 articles underwent title and abstract review. After full-text review, 139 articles were included. Numeric and thematic analyses were conducted and education programs were evaluated using Bloom's taxonomy. RESULTS: Most curricula were developed in high-income countries (HICs), with 58% in the United States. Cancer-specific curricula focused on HIC priority cancers, such as skin/melanoma, and did not represent the global cancer burden. Most (80%) curricula were developed for staff physicians and 73% focused on cancer screening. More than half (57%) of programs were delivered in person, with a shift toward online delivery over time. Less than half (46%) of programs were codeveloped with PCPs and 34% did not involve PCPs in the program design and development. Curricula were primarily developed to improve cancer knowledge, and 72 studies assessed multiple outcome measures. No studies included the top two levels of Bloom's taxonomy of learning (evaluating; creating). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first review to assess the current state of cancer curricula for PCPs with a global focus. This review shows that extant curricula are primarily developed in HICs, do not represent the global cancer burden, and focus on cancer screening. This review lays a foundation to advance the cocreation of curricula that are aligned to the global cancer burden.

Children's intergroup gender bias and self-perceived same- and other-gender similarity.

Children display intergroup bias in relation to gender. The present study examined whether children's self-perceived same- and other-gender similarity were related to their same- and other-gender positivity and negativity, respectively. Children aged 6-10 years (N = 149) were interviewed about their self-perceived similarity to girls and to boys and about the extent to which they thought positive and negative characteristics applied to boys and to girls. Among girls, greater self-perceived other-gender similarity was associated with more negativity towards the same gender. Similar to previous research, intergroup gender bias was more pronounced among girls, and children rated themselves as having more same- than other-gender similarity, with this pattern being more pronounced in boys. Thus, this study provides evidence suggesting that other-gender similarity is related to girls' negative attributions towards girls. It also replicates previous findings regarding gender differences in children's intergroup gender bias and gender similarity, respectively.