?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Feprints.nottingham.ac.uk%2F11199%2F&rft.title=Exploring+dimensions+of+health+literacy%3A+a+case+study+of+interventions+to+promote+and+support+breastfeeding&rft.creator=Gillis%2C+Doris+E.&rft.description=At+a+time+when+health+literacy+is+emerging+as+a+central+concern+in+the+health+field%2C+this+thesis+examines+whether+and+how+practitioners+involved+in+the+promotion+of+breastfeeding+incorporate+dimensions+of+health+literacy+as+described+in+the+current+literature.+Although+there+is+little+evidence+that+practitioners+are+familiar+with+specific+definitions+of+health+literacy%2C+their+description+of+practices+reflected+various+facets+of+health+literacy+including+functional+health+literacy%2C+interactive+and+critical+health+literacy%2C+and+health+literacy+as+composed+of+multiple+literacies.%0A%0A%0AThis+qualitative+case+study+was+set+in+a+rural+health+district+in+the+Canadian+province+of+Nova+Scotia+where+breastfeeding+initiation+and+duration+rates+are+lower+than+national+averages+and+where+health+literacy+was+identified+as+a+community+health+issue.+In-depth+face-to-face+interviews+were+conducted+with+30+professional+and+lay+practitioners.+Practices+in+one+hospital-based+and+two+community-based+settings+were+observed.+Data+were+analyzed+for+themes+using+an+iterative+process+of+constant+comparison.+Interview+informants+and+mothers+provided+feedback+on+preliminary+findings+in+focus+group+interviews.++%0A%0A%0AFindings+reflect+an+emphasis+on+the+transmission+of+information+to+persuade+mothers+to+breastfeed%2C+in+contrast+to+strengthening+their+capacity+to+use+information+in+making+or+acting+on+choices+about+how+to+feed+their+babies.++Practitioners%E2%80%99+discomfort+in+identifying+clients+with+low+literacy+skills+raises+fundamental+concerns+about+the+stigma+associated+with+low+literacy.+A+focus+on+the+functional+health+literacy+deficiencies+of+clients%2C+not+on+their+capacities%2C+appears+limiting+in+addressing+the+complexities+of+breastfeeding+promotion.+There+is+little+evidence+of+practices+which+reflect+critical+health+literacy+or+efforts+to+reduce+structural+barriers+to+breastfeeding.+In+conclusion%2C+the+study+suggests+that+practitioners%E2%80%99+engagement+in+critical+reflection+of+their+breastfeeding+promotion+practices+through+the+multidimensional+frame+of+health+literacy+could+help+to+further+their+practice+and+the+conceptual+development+of+health+literacy.&rft.date=2009-07-17&rft.type=Thesis+(University+of+Nottingham+only)&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.language=en&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Feprints.nottingham.ac.uk%2F11199%2F1%2FGILLIS_PhD_Thesis_2009_FINAL.pdf&rft.identifier=++Gillis%2C+Doris+E.++(2009)+Exploring+dimensions+of+health+literacy%3A+a+case+study+of+interventions+to+promote+and+support+breastfeeding.++PhD+thesis%2C+University+of+Nottingham.+++