Preferred Name
Rachel W. Panak
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6003-5965
Date of Graduation
12-13-2025
Semester of Graduation
Fall
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
School of Nursing
First Advisor
Holly Buchanan
Second Advisor
David Switzer
Abstract
Background: Health insurance literacy (HIL) is a critical factor influencing individuals' ability to effectively navigate the complexities of the healthcare system. Despite the near-universal health insurance coverage of young adults in the United States, this group tends to demonstrate lower levels of HIL. This gap adversely affects healthcare decision-making and engagement with preventive health services, contributing to underutilization of such services, poor health outcomes, and increased healthcare costs.
Methods: This program evaluation investigated the effectiveness of a health insurance education initiative conducted at a university in the Southeastern United States. Grounded in the PRECEDE-PROCEED model for program planning and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Triple Aim framework, the evaluation explored the program's impact on HIL, perceived health competence, and utilization of preventive care services. The educational intervention consisted of three YouTube videos about common health insurance topics. Health insurance seminars were discussed but were not completed due to logistical barriers. Participants' HIL was measured using questions from the Health Insurance Literacy Measure and the Kaiser Family Foundation health insurance terminology quiz, administered pre- and post-program.
Results: Most survey respondents were white (88%), female (92%), insured (96%), with at least a high school education or GED (100%), and completed the survey on the day of the initial social media post (77%). Perceived confidence increased significantly after viewing brief informational videos about health insurance. Post intervention, knowledge increased but was not statistically significant.
Discussion: Findings support the literature that young adults have low confidence with health insurance but desire more information. Posts on social media platforms popular with young adults are an effective way to reach this demographic. The results of this program can be used to influence policy discussions about insurance educational content in core curricula courses. Further research into improvement of health insurance confidence and literacy is needed to address the cost of care, the patient experience, and population health
Keywords: Health insurance literacy, preventive care, program evaluation, health education, young adults.
