Presenter(s)

Nick Patrick Andriole, Paige Rene Christine Hallstrom, Kennedy Cozette Sana, Megan Lynn Watson

Comments

This poster reflects research conducted as part of a course project designed to give students experience in the research process.

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Description

Alcohol consumption is a part of the college culture in the United States and is, therefore, a common health topic of concern on university campuses. However, students in the University of Dayton Intensive English Program (IEP) have limited exposure to and knowledge about alcohol due to the religious practices and the laws in their home countries. Most existing healthcare documents in the U.S. about alcohol are written at a high reading level, which limits the resources available for the IEP students to learn about this topic. Our team conducted a Health Literacy Load Analysis, SMOG test, and Flesch-Kincaid test on a document about alcohol published by the South Australia government. We found that this public health text was written at a 11th grade reading level. Over the course of the project, we met with the IEP students twice: once to assess their information needs and once to field test how well the IEP students understood a draft of our team’s revised brochure. The main purpose of our brochure was to educate the IEP students about alcohol, including common reasons why people drink as well as the effects of consuming alcohol on the body. Our revised brochure was written at a 4th grade reading level and addressed the cultural context of the IEP students. Through our collaboration with the IEP students, we gained a perspective on the necessary work required to make health information accessible to low literacy groups.

Publication Date

4-24-2019

Project Designation

Course Project

Primary Advisor

Ann E. Biswas

Primary Advisor's Department

English

Keywords

Stander Symposium project

Alcohol: A More Effective and Culturally Accessible Explanation for UD’s Intensive English Program Students

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