Data from: Exploring health literacy competencies toward patient education program for Chinese-speaking healthcare professionals: a Delphi study

Objectives: To achieve consensus on a set of competencies in health literacy practice based on a literature review and expert consultation. Setting: Hospitals and community health centers in Taiwan. Method: A two-stage modified Delphi study involving a literature review was conducted, followed by qualitative interviews and three rounds of email-based data collection over a three-month period in 2011. Participants: Fifteen Chinese healthcare practitioners with more than six months’ experience in patient education were interviewed to collect data on health literacy practice. Twenty-four experts (12 academic scholars in health literacy and 12 professionals with training related to health literacy practice) were invited to participate in the Delphi process. Results: Qualitative data from the interviews were analyzed and summarized to form 99 competency items for health literacy practice, which were categorized into five domains of health literacy practice including those pertaining to knowledge and skills. Consensus was reached on 92 of 99 competencies, using a modified Delphi technique. Conclusion: The 92 competencies in health literacy practice embraced core components of patient education in the Chinese healthcare profession.