Using Cardio-metabolic Risk Information in Health Decisions: Barriers from the Perspective of Low Literate Consumers

Purpose

The aim of the proposed study is to investigate how consumers with low levels of health literacy understand, evaluate and use current risk information in the Dutch national cardio-metabolic health check in order to identify barriers for an effective use from the perspective of these consumers. A further goal of the study is to develop an adapted version of the existing risk communication tool, which will be further tested in a continued study. The following research questions will be answered in the proposed study:

1. How do consumers with low levels of health literacy understand and interpret the cardio-metabolic risk information?
2. How do consumers with low levels of health literacy evaluate the cardio-metabolic risk information? (e.g., in terms of relevance or usefulness for their own decision making).
3. How do consumers with low levels of health literacy use the cardio-metabolic risk information in hypothetical decisions?