Knowledge and motivation: two elements of health literacy that remain low with regard to nurse practitioners in Australia.
OBJECTIVE
This paper presents analysis of consumer focus groups that were undertaken as a part of the project to develop the now current Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's Nurse Practitioner Standards for Practice.


METHODS
Six focus groups were conducted with consumers around Australia, including urban and remote areas. One purpose for these groups was to explore what was known of nurse practitioners and whether consumers could articulate the difference between the regulated titles of enrolled nurse, registered nurse and nurse practitioner.


RESULTS
Consumers' knowledge of nurses' roles in the Australian primary healthcare system, and hence system literacy (particularly in terms of navigating the system), was low. Of perhaps greatest importance is the fact that those consumers with low health systems literacy also exhibited a low level of motivation to seek new knowledge. Many consumers relied on the medical profession to direct care.


CONCLUSIONS
The low levels of health literacy raise questions of how to meaningfully include health consumers in innovative health-related policy work.
School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia. Email.
Andrew
A
Cashin
School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia. Email.
Marie
M
Heartfield
Health Care Consumers' Association Inc, 100 Maitland Street, Hackett, ACT 2602, Australia. Email.
Darlene
D
Cox
Clinical Practice, School of Health, Casurina Campus, Charles Darwin University, NT 0811, Australia. Email.
Sandra
S
Dunn
Sydney Nursing School, University of Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia. Email: helen.stasa@gmail.com.
Helen
H
Stasa
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D011639:Public Opinion; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires