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Cited by 14Health Literacy and Information AccessibilityOvarian function and disordersObesity and Health Practices

Health literacy needs in weight management of women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

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Lim, Siew, Smith, Caroline A., Costello, Michael F., MacMillan, Freya, Moran, Lisa, Teede, Helena, Ee, Carolyn·2021·Health Promotion Journal of Australia
DOI 10.1002/hpja.349
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Abstract

Issue addressed: Lifestyle modification plays a key role in weight management and chronic disease prevention in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Women with PCOS experience challenges in adopting and maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviours, which may be related to health literacy. The aims of this study were to explore the health literacy needs of women with PCOS in lifestyle and weight management to inform research and practice. Methods: Ten women with PCOS participated in focus groups and semi‐structured telephone interviews on lifestyle and weight management in PCOS. Results: For functional health literacy, women with PCOS are highly motivated for lifestyle and weight management due to the long‐term consequences of PCOS. For interactive health literacy, barriers included delayed diagnosis and poor communication. Women with PCOS were resourceful in accessing a wide range of weight management services but some experience barriers such as costs or the feelings of embarrassment associated with accessing relevant services. For critical health literacy, no facilitators and barriers could be identified for the domain of participation in making decisions for health. Conclusions: Women with PCOS experience facilitators and barriers in functional and interactive health literacy in lifestyle and weight management. So what?: Future interventions should seek to further understand and address these gaps in health literacy by increasing weight management skills through behaviour change techniques, improving health professional‐patient communication through tools such as question prompt lists, enhancing peer support by increasing distributed health literacy in PCOS support groups and by providing opportunities for co‐design of interventions.

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  • Nine included papers report on patients' own preferences, views, and experiences of the IoT for PCOS-related reasons.

    “Nine included papers report on patients’ own preferences, views, and experiences of the IoT for PCOS-related reasons [17,44,45,97,98,99,100,101,102] (Supplementary File S4).”

    From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [44]

    The Results and Interactive health literacy sections report women with PCOS describing positive and negative experiences of online support groups. The paper therefore supports the patient-experience aspect, but it does not study the Internet of Things as such. The count of nine included papers belongs to the citing review, not to this individual study. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Women with PCOS brought attention to the negative aspect of reading online comments and how it can lead to distress, feeling isolated, and anxiety, especially for those trying to get pregnant.

    “Women with PCOS brought attention to the negative aspect of reading online comments and how it can lead to distress, feeling isolated, and even anxiety, especially for those trying to get pregnant [44,45,101].”

    From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [44]

    The Interactive health literacy discussion (section 4.2; page unavailable) reports negative experiences with online PCOS support groups and cites a past study linking others’ negative posts to anxiety. It discusses isolation separately as a possible consequence of lacking peer support. It does not link online comments to isolation or distress specifically, or identify women trying to get pregnant as especially affected. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Positive feedback regarding online forums as a place for support by connecting with others and finding anecdotal information was shared in three Australian studies, one UK study, and one Canada study.

    “Nevertheless, positive feedback regarding how those with PCOS consider online forums to be a place where they can find support by connecting with others going through relatable struggles, finding anecdotal information was shared in three Australian studies [44,45,102], one in the UK [101], and one in Canada [98].”

    From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [44]

  • Publication dates of participant voices papers ranged from 2007 to 2023, with the majority from Australia (n = 6), two from the UK, and one from Canada.

    “The publication dates ranged from 2007 to 2023, with the majority originating from Australia (n = 6) [17,44,45,97,99,102], while two originated from the UK [100,101], and one from Canada [98].”

    From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [44]

  • There has been very limited research on health literacy in women with PCOS.

    “However, there has been very limited research on health literacy in women with PCOS, as discussed below [89,90].”

    From Providing lifestyle advice to women with PCOS: an overview of practical issues affecting success (2021) · cites this paper as [90]

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Cited by

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Authors
Lim, S., Smith, C. A., Costello, M. F., MacMillan, F., Moran, L., Teede, H., & Ee, C.
Affiliations
  • Monash University (AU)
  • Western Sydney University (AU)
  • Royal Hospital for Women (AU)
  • Monash Medical Centre (AU)
Corresponding author
Ee, Carolyn
ORCID
Venue
Health Promotion Journal of Australia
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-05-26
Volume
32
Issue
S1
Pages
41-48
ISSN
  • 1036-1073 (ISSN-L)
  • 2201-1617
DOI
10.1002/hpja.349
OpenAlex
W3020319353
Cited by
14
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2
FWCI
2.09
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Health Promotion Journal of Australia (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
Keywords
polycystic ovary syndrome, health literacy, weight management, lifestyle modification, functional health literacy, interactive health literacy, critical health literacy, barriers to health services, health professional-patient communication, peer support, behaviour change techniques, women's health
MeSH terms
Female, Humans, Life Style, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Health Literacy

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