Can health communication improve newly settled refugees’ health literacy? A quasi-experimental study

Abstract Structural and contextual factors such as limited work opportunities, inadequate housing options and discrimination negatively affect the health and well-being of newly settled refugee migrants in European countries. In Sweden, health promotion initiatives aiming at strengthening health, resilience and integration have been tried out within the Introduction Program for refugee migrants. The main component of these interventions has been educational activities in the form of health communication. Generally evaluated from the perspectives of participants and course leaders, longitudinal evaluations remain rare. The current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of a regular and an extended civic orientation course with added health communication and examine whether the latter would improve self-rated health and psychological well-being, health literacy and social capital among newly settled refugee migrants in Sweden. Pre- and post-assessment questionnaires were collected from the intervention group receiving the extended course (n = 143) and a control group receiving the regular course (n = 173). Linear mixed models and chi-square analyses showed a significant increase with a small effect size (0.21) in health literacy in the intervention group. However, there were no significant changes in general self-rated health, psychological well-being or emotional and practical support. The findings indicate that added health communication embedded in the civic orientation course can increase health literacy. However, further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the sustainability of the observed change in health literacy and its translation into long-term advances in health and integration. Key messages • Added health communication provided within the Introduction Program for refugee migrants can increase health literacy. • Increased health literacy may be beneficial for newly settled refugees as it is linked to improved health-seeking behavior, better health outcomes and empowerment.