Health literacy knowledge among immigrant students

Abstract

Health literacy is a critical determinant of health and wellbeing including being impactful on the nursing field at large, yet immigrant students often face challenges in navigating healthcare systems and understanding health information in their host countries. In Finland, little is known about the specific health literacy needs of immigrant students in higher education. This study explored these needs at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SEAMK), applying a multidimensional health literacy model and a three-element framework of accessing, understanding, and appraisal.

The purpose of this thesis is to describe the experiences of health literacy among immigrant students at Seinäjoki University of applied sciences. The goal is to make health literacy more visible in the field of nursing. The results can be used to develop services for international students. The thesis is a qualitative study with inductive content analysis. International students of immigrant background responded to an open-ended online survey yielding 41 responses (N=41) and data was analysed thematically.

There three major needs that emerged: (1) Access to health information sources, where students relied on a mix of formal, informal, and digital sources, often with uncertainty about reliability; (2) Navigation of the healthcare system, where barriers were met in accessibility to information, language and experiences with healthcare providers; (3) Quality of information, where credibility concerns, availability of information and comprehension of health information shaped students’ trust, understandability and decision-making.

The thesis concludes that immigrant students encounter barriers across all stages of the health literacy process. Targeted measures such as multilingual and plain-language materials, digital literacy support and guidance, extensive and comprehensive orientation for new students are recommended to improve access, comprehension, and critical appraisal skills, thereby supporting student health and academic integration.