Using Feasibility Data and Codesign to Refine a Group-Based Health Literacy Intervention for New Parents

Abstract

Few health literacy interventions exist for new parents. We developed a group-based health literacy program (“Parenting Plus”), which was initially tested in a feasibility study in 2018. In this brief report, we describe how feasibility findings were incorporated into the Parenting Plus program. Using a codesign process with patient partners (feasibility study participants) and health staff to revise the program, version 2 was tested in a single-site pilot using pre- and post-intervention testing. Parents older than age 16 years whose child was between ages 4 and 26 weeks were recruited from nurse home visits in western Sydney, Australia. Interested participants attended the free 4-week health literacy program (four 2-hour sessions) delivered by a trained facilitator. Piloting suggested the revised program is acceptable to new parents, has good retention (93% over the course of 4 weeks), and can improve health literacy skills, including access to reliable health information and services. Our iterative development and codesign approach integrated learnings from various sources to inform the design of an evidence-based health literacy intervention. We now move to an effectiveness implementation hybrid trial to test intervention effectiveness (health literacy skill development) and support translation of research findings into routine practice. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2021;5(4):e276–e282.]