Developing a process to screen for health literacy in family caregivers of older people and refining a support intervention for use with caregivers experiencing low levels of health literacy

Abstract

In many countries throughout the world, populations are ageing. Currently, in Brazil, there are 29 million (14.3%) people aged at least 60 years and this is set to increase to 65 million in 2050. In Australia, approximately 15% of the population was aged 65 years or older in 2016, numbering 3.7 million people. By 2056, it is projected that 22% of the population (8.7 million people) will be in this age group. Ageing of the population is associated with a higher prevalence of chronic health conditions, many of which result in functional dependency. Family caregivers have a critical and multi-faceted role to help maintain home care for older people experiencing such health conditions. To achieve many of these caregiving requirements successfully, family caregivers need to have a good understanding of health related information (health literacy). This pilot project will be undertaken to prepare for future applications for national funding in Australia and Brazil to undertake a two-center (international) trial of an intervention to identify and support family caregivers of older people who have low levels of health literacy, tailoring the support provided to the individual level of health literacy, and examining outcomes including preparedness to care, hospitalizations, and residential care admissions. (AU)