[Strategies and Measures to Strengthen the Health Literacy of Migrants: An Online Survey of Primary Care Providers in Hessen].

Background: Adequate health literacy is crucial for active participation in health-related decisions. Migrants are one of the population groups that can have more difficulties in finding and using relevant information to make their own decisions. Primary care providers in Germany are the main point of contact for health and disease-related questions and can therefore make an important contribution to strengthening the health literacy of this population group. It remains unclear which specific approaches they use for that purpose.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine which strategies and measures primary care providers in Hessen, Germany, use to strengthen the health literacy of migrants and which additional measures of support they consider important for that purpose.

Materials and methods: 2,784 primary care providers in Hessen were invited by email between August 1, 2023 and October 24, 2023 to take part in a quantitative online survey. The data were analyzed descriptively.

Results: The majority of respondents used multilingual information material, referred to reliable sources of information and contact persons and predominantly used native-speaking staff or digital translation tools to improve the health literacy of migrants. Resources to improve communication and information and an increase in staff were considered by healthcare providers to be helpful in promoting the health literacy of those affected. At the same time, it was emphasized that efforts should also be made on the part of migrant patients to acquire health literacy.

Conclusion: Although primary care providers already use strategies to support migrants in communication and decision-making, there is still room for improvement by taking steps to improve access and navigation within the doctor's office, by increasing collaboration with other stakeholders, and by integrating health literacy into the organizational structures of the office.