Keywords: Health literacy; cancer treatment and care; primary care; Health Literacy Index, Artificial Intelligence.

Background:

Poor health literacy is linked with worse health outcomes, and low health literacy for cancer prevention and care contributes to significant inequalities. Despite diverse existing efforts to promote health education, there remains a need for validated, accessible methodologies that enhance health literacy among citizens, patients, carers, and healthcare professionals.

Research questions:

Is health literacy improved through a structured educational intervention in cancer care, based on the Health Literacy Pathway Model, among patients, carers and/or citizens?

Method:

The study comprises the following steps: a) a systematic review will assess the role of health literacy in cancer prevention and care following PRISMA guidelines; b) a scoping review will map existing health literacy education programs developed within healthcare systems and in the community; c) evidence-based online resources will be systematically identified and evaluated using empirical criteria; d) a Massive Online Open Course will be implemented to use high quality online resources. The Consortium comprises eight partners from six EU Member States; two work‑package leaders are EGPRN members. The project is funded under Call EU4H‑2024‑PJ‑02 (Grant Agreement No. 101219203).

Results:

The project will officially start on September 1st. The protocols for steps a), b) and c) will be presented at EGPRN meeting, once approved by the Consortium workshop on October 8th.

Conclusions:

The project is expected to improve cancer-related health literacy and communication within Primary Care, between health professionals and patients and citizens, thus reducing inequalities in cancer prevention and care.

Points for discussion:

In what ways can we empower patients to use the information available online appropriately?

How can we incorporate AI into primary care research?

What are the characteristics of the information that our cancer patients use?