14. Grouping of studies according to main intervention components and comparator.
| Study ID | Health topic | Description of intervention arm(s) | Main intervention component | Additional intervention components | Intervention delivery method/mode | Intervention provider | Comparator |
| 1 Culturally and literacy adapted self‐management programme vs no health literacy intervention | |||||||
| Bloom 2014 | Breast cancer | Multimodal educational intervention "Afghan women's breast health program" | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling | Weekly face‐to‐face group sessions, followed by individual motivational counselling through health navigators (total programme duration, number and length of group sessions and counselling not reported) | Trained LHE/ health navigators | Wait‐list control (delayed intervention) |
| Koniak‐Griffin 2015 | Cardiovascular disease | Multimodal lifestyle behaviour intervention, "Mujeres Sanas y Precavidas" | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 8 weekly face‐to‐face group sessions lasting 2 hours, followed by 4 months of individual teaching and coaching sessions (4 face‐to‐face sessions and 4 phone calls) | Trained promotoras | Attention placebo control; same quantity, but information on safety and preparedness |
| Rosal 2011 | Type 2 diabetes | Multimodal Diabetes Self‐Management intervention programme “Latinos en Control” | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, role modelling, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 12 weekly face‐to‐face group sessions lasting 2.5 hours and 8 monthly face‐to‐face group sessions. First session: 1st hour personalised counselling and cooking; remaining time: group protocol and meal | Trained team of 2 leaders and an assistant (either nutritionist or health educator and trained lay individuals or 3 lay individuals supervised by 2 investigators) | Usual care (no additional intervention) |
| van Servellen 2005 | HIV | Multimodal HIV treatment adherence enhancement program “Es por la vida” | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 5 weekly face‐to‐face group sessions (of 3 to 7 participants), followed by 6 months of telephone counselling or face‐to‐face encounters | Nurse practitioner and health educator; trained foreign medical student (only assessment) | Usual care (no additional intervention) |
| 2 Culturally and literacy adapted self‐management programme vs written information on the same topic | |||||||
| Han 2017 | Breast/cervical cancer | CHW‐led breast and cervical cancer health literacy skills training | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, role modelling, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 1 face‐to‐face group session (of 7 to 8 women) lasting 1.5 to 2 hours, followed by 6 months of monthly telephone calls | Trained CHW | Wait‐list control/standard brochure |
| Kaur 2019 | Oral health | “Safeguard Your Smile” oral health literacy intervention | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, role modelling, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 1 face‐to‐face group session (of 3 to 4 participants) lasting 1 hour; monthly phone calls within a 3‐month follow‐up period | Lead researcher, no further training | Standard brochure |
| Kim 2009 | Type 2 diabetes | Community based, multimodal behavioural Self‐Help Intervention Programme for Diabetes Management (SHIP‐DM, pilot study) | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 6 weekly face‐to‐face group sessions lasting 2 hours followed by 6 months of self‐monitoring and monthly telephone counselling (10 to 25 min) | Trained CHW and research nurses | Wait‐list control/standard brochure |
| Kim 2014 | High blood pressure (HBP) | Multimodal self‐help intervention programme on the control of high blood pressure | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 6 weekly face‐to‐face group sessions (of 6 to 10 participants) lasting 2 hours, followed by 12 months of self‐monitoring (including weekly submission of BP to study website) and monthly telephone counselling |
Trained research staff and research nurses | Wait‐list control/standard brochure |
| Kim 2020 | Type 2 diabetes | Community based, multimodal behavioural Self‐Help Intervention Programme for Diabetes Management (SHIP‐DM) | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 6 weekly face‐to‐face group sessions lasting 2 hours, followed by 12 months of self‐monitoring and monthly telephone counselling | Trained CHW and research nurses | Wait‐list control/standard brochure |
| Rosal 2005 | Type 2 diabetes | Multimodal self‐management intervention programme for metabolic self‐control in individuals with type 2 diabetes | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, role modelling, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling, self‐monitoring | 1 initial face‐to‐face individual session lasting 1 hour, 10 weekly face‐to‐face group sessions lasting 2.5 to 3 hours and 2 individual sessions lasting 15 min (immediately prior to group sessions within 10 weeks period) | Diabetes nurse, nutritionist and research assistant (known to community residents) | Standard brochure |
| 3 Culturally adapted health literacy skills building course vs no/unrelated health literacy intervention | |||||||
| Elder 1998 | Nutrition/cardiovascular health | Health literacy skills training embedded in language course | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training incorporated in existing English as a second language (ESL) course, personal interaction with provider) | — | As many as 5 face‐to‐face group sessions lasting 3 hours | Trained ESL teacher | Same method/mode of delivery, but information on a different health topic |
| Otilingam 2015 | Nutrition/heart and brain health | Group 1: Workshop on nutrition and heart health Group 2: Workshop on nutrition and heart health plus brain health Group 3: Wait‐list control Group 4: Post‐test only wait‐list control |
Group 1, 2 (combined)**: Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, role modelling, personal interaction with provider) | — | 2 face‐to‐face group sessions (of up to 7 participants) lasting 2 hours (1 week apart) | Trained bilingual research assistants | Group 3, 4**: wait‐list control |
| Soto Mas 2018 | Cardiovascular health | Health literacy skills training embedded in language course | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training incorporated in existing ESL course, role modelling, personal interaction with provider) | — | 12 face‐to‐face, group sessions lasting 3.5 hours (total of 42 hours) delivered over a period of 6 weeks | Trained ESL teacher | Usual care (standard ESL course without additional information)1 |
| Taylor 2011 | Hepatitis B | Health literacy skills training embedded in language course | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training incorporate in existing ESL course, role modelling, personal interaction with provider) | — | 1 face‐to‐face, group session lasting 3 hours | Trained ESL teacher | Same method/mode of delivery, but information on a different health topic |
| Tong 2017 | Colorectal cancer (CRC) | LHE‐led CRC group education | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, personal interaction with provider) | Individual motivational counselling | 2 face‐to‐face group sessions lasting approx. 90 min, separated by 2 months 2 follow‐up phone calls 1 month after each session |
Trained LHE | Same method/mode of delivery, but information on a different health topic |
| Wong 2020 | Mental health (depression) | Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)‐based paraprofessional training programme | Intense health education (multiple methods of knowledge transfer/skills training, personal interaction with provider) | — | 4 weekly face‐to‐face, group sessions lasting 3 hours, homework exercises | Master's level clinical psychology trainees | Wait‐list control |
| 4 Culturally adapted telephone education vs unrelated culturally adapted telephone education | |||||||
| Lepore 2012 | Prostate cancer | Tailored telephone education intervention on prostate cancer | Simple health education (2 methods of knowledge transfer: telephone education plus educational pamphlet), personal interaction with provider | Decision support | 2 individual phone calls within a 1‐month period (median = 1 week) plus mailed brochure, 1 health education call lasting approx. 20 min and 1 follow‐up call lasting approx. 5 min | Trained graduate‐level health educator | Same method/mode of delivery, but information on a different health topic |
| 5 Culturally and literacy adapted audio‐/visual education without personal feedback vs no health literacy intervention | |||||||
| DeCamp 2020 | Child health | "Salud al Día", Spanish‐language interactive text messaging intervention | Simple health education (2 methods of knowledge transfer: factual information, role modelling) | Motivational interactive text/push messages and automated feedback | 1 individual video session lasting 9 min (plus take‐home DVD at 2‐month visit in clinic) and monthly interactive text messages for 10 months, if necessary email contact to clinic nurse | Research staff, clinic staff | Usual care (no additional intervention) |
| Hernandez 2013 | Mental health (depression) | Fotonovela "Secret Feelings" | Simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: role modelling), extent of personal interaction with provider unclear | — | 1 face‐to‐face group session (printed fotonovela read out loud by literate participants) | Experienced study site's promotoras | Placebo intervention (group discussion on family communication) |
| Kiropoulos 2011 | Depression | Multicultural Information on Depression Online (MIDonline) website | Simple health education (2 methods of knowledge transfer, role modelling, multiple interactive online modules) | — | 1 individual web‐based session (interactive website) | Not applicable | Placebo intervention (semi‐structured interview about depression) |
| Thompson 2012 | Child nutrition and feeding | Nutrition education via interactive touchscreen | Simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: multiple interactive online modules) | Algorithm‐based automated feedback | 1 individual web‐based session (interactive touchscreen computer, 5 modules of 2 to 8 min, total duration approx. 25 min) | Not applicable | Usual care (no additional intervention) |
| 6 Culturally and literacy adapted audio‐/visual education without personal feedback vs written information on the same topic | |||||||
| Calderón 2014 | Type 2 diabetes | Animated bilingual video "¿Que es la Diabetes?/What Is Diabetes?" | Simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: role modelling) | — | 1 individual video session lasting 13 min | Not applicable | Easy‐to‐read information on diabetes (language concordant) |
| Gwede 2019 | Colorectal cancer | “LCARES” fotonovela booklet and DVD intervention plus faecal immunochemical test (FIT) | Simple health education (2 methods of knowledge transfer: factual information, role modelling) | Reminder letters | 1 individual video session plus printed fotonovela | Not applicable | Standard brochure |
| Payán 2020 | Breast cancer | Group 1: CUIDARSE ("taking care of oneself") brochure on breast cancer Group 2: CHW‐delivered CUIDARSE ("taking care of oneself") brochure on breast cancer Group 3*: usual care (standard brochure) |
Group 1, 2** (combined): simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: role modelling), personal contact, but no additional support or information (oral administration of adapted written information) |
— | 1 face‐to‐face session lasting 15 min (printed brochure verbally administered) (unclear whether delivered in group or individually) | Trained bilingual CHW | Group 3*: usual care (standard brochure) |
| Poureslami 2016a | Asthma | Group 1: physician‐led video Group 2: community video Group 3: both physician‐led and community videos Group 4: literacy adapted pictorial pamphlet (language concordant) |
Group 3*: simple health education (2 methods of knowledge transfer: factual information, role modelling) | — | 1 individual video session (2 videos: 1 factual knowledge video and 1 peer‐led (community) video) | Not applicable | Group 4*: easy‐to‐read pictorial pamphlet on asthma |
| Poureslami 2016b | COPD | Group 1: physician‐led video Group 2: community video Group 3: both physician‐led and community videos Group 4: literacy adapted pictorial pamphlet (language concordant) |
Group 3*: simple health education (2 methods of knowledge transfer: factual information, role modelling) | — | 1 individual video session (2 videos: 1 physician‐led, factual knowledge video and 1 peer‐led (role‐played) video | Not applicable | Group 4*: easy‐to‐read pictorial pamphlet on COPD |
| Sudore 2018 | No specific (advance care planning) | Interactive online advance care planning programme “PREPARE” and AD intervention | Simple health education (2 methods of knowledge transfer: multiple interactive online modules, skills training), personal interaction with provider via telephone | Algorithm‐based automated feedback | 1 web‐based session (interactive website), ongoing access to website, plus literacy adapted printed Advance Directive (AD), reminder phone call 1 to 3 days prior to primary care visit | Trained research staff | Written advance directive |
| Unger 2013 | Mental health (depression) | Fotonovela "Secret Feelings" | Simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: role modelling), personal interaction with provider unclear | — | 1 face‐to‐face group session lasting 20 to 30 min (printed fotonovela read by oneself) | One data collector, no further information |
Standard brochure |
| Valdez 2015 | Cervical cancer | Educational DVD on human HPV vaccine | Simple health education (2 methods of knowledge transfer: role modelling, factual information) | — | 1 individual video session (DVD watched at home at individually convenient time) | Not applicable | Usual care (standard brochure) |
| Valdez 2018 | Cervical cancer | Cervical cancer education via interactive touchscreen | Simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: multiple interactive online modules) | Algorithm‐based automated feedback | 1 individual web‐based session lasting 20 to 30 min (interactive, multimedia touchscreen kiosk) | Not applicable | Standard brochure |
| 7 Culturally and literacy adapted audio‐/visual education without personal feedback vs another culturally and literacy adapted audio‐/visual education without personal feedback | |||||||
| Ochoa 2020 | Cervical cancer | Tamale Lesson/Conversando entre Tamales", a narrative culturally tailored film on prevention of cervical cancer | Simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: role modelling) | — | 1 narrative/story telling video session lasting 11 min | Not applicable | Factual knowledge video |
| Poureslami 2016a | Asthma | Group 1: physician‐led video Group 2: community video Group 3: both physician‐led and community videos Group 4: literacy adapted pictorial pamphlet (language concordant) |
Group 2*: simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: role modelling) | — | 1 narrative/story telling video session (peer‐played | Not applicable | Group 1*:(Community) physician‐led, factual knowledge video |
| Poureslami 2016b | COPD | Group 1: physician‐led video Group 2: community video Group 3: both physician‐led and community videos Group 4: literacy adapted pictorial pamphlet (language concordant) |
Group 2*: simple health education (1 method of knowledge transfer: role modelling) | — | 1 narrative video session (peer‐played) | Not applicable | Group 1*: (Community) physician‐led, factual knowledge video |
| 8 Culturally and literacy adapted medical instruction vs no health literacy intervention | |||||||
| Bailey 2012 | No specific (medication understanding) | Health literacy informed Rx bottles | Adapted written medical instructions (health literacy informed medication label) |
— | Written information | Not applicable | Language concordant standard text labels |
| Kheir 2014 | No specific (medication understanding) | Group 1: pictogram‐only label Group 2: pictogram label with verbal instructions Group 3: standard text label with translated verbal instructions |
Group 2*: adapted written medical instructions (pictogram labels) plus translated verbal instructions | — | Written information, face‐to‐face instruction (1 session) | Research staff, interpreter |
Group 3*: standard text label with translated verbal instructions |
| Mohan 2014 | Diabetes (medication understanding) | PictureRx illustrated medication list | Adapted written information (illustrated medication list + plain language bilingual text), personal contact with provider |
— | Written information, face‐to‐face instruction, 2‐min instruction video | Research assistant | Language concordant standard text labels |
AD: advance directive; BP: blood pressure; CHW: community health worker; COPD: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CRC: colorectal cancer; ESL: English as a second language; LHE: lay health educator; Rx: prescription; SHIP‐DM: Self‐Help Intervention programme for type 2 Diabetes Management
* Prioritised intervention group to create a single pairwise comparison; ** Groups were combined to create a single pairwise comparison
1Standard ESL curriculum already includes health‐related topics. Therefore, control group assignment might not be accurate.