Table 3.

Recommendations for future studies and examples of exemplary reporting across RE-AIM components in the current body of health literacy literature

RE-AIM component	Recommendations for reporting on future health literacy studies
Reach	Report on the methods to identify the participant population Define a denominator for participation rate that is based on the projected number of eligible participants who are exposed to recruitment activities Provide a comparison of those who agree to participate and those who decline on basic demographic and health information
	Example articles addressing reach: Murray et al., 2007; Rudd et al., 2009; Schillinger et al., 2008; each used a medical record system to identify a denominator of eligible participants, stated the inclusion/exclusion criteria explicitly, and provided information necessary to calculate an accurate participation rate Schillinger and colleagues (2008) compared age, sex, language, race/ethnicity, insurance, and HgbA1c levels of participants and nonparticipants
Effectiveness	Explicitly identify the trial type (e.g., efficacy, effectiveness, hybrid) Use intention to treat methods Use appropriately designed and adequately powered studies that execute moderation analysis by health literacy levels to better understand the robustness of intervention effects across different levels of health literacy Include measures of quality of life or potential negative consequences of the intervention
	Example articles addressing effectiveness: Murray et al., 2007; Schillinger et al., 2009; both reported across all the dimensions of efficacy/effectiveness
Adoption	Continue to report on intervention location Provide a description of the characteristics of the settings and individuals that delivered the intervention Report methods to identify settings and individuals Provide an indication of participation rate amongst delivery agents and settings Continue to include, but to also move beyond, clinical settings to apply strategies more broadly in local communities
	Example articles addressing adoption: Ferreira et al., 2005; Schillinger et al., 2008; both reported on four of six adoption dimensions None of the reviewed studies reported on all six adoption dimensions
RE-AIM component Implementation	Recommendations for reporting on future health literacy studies Report on intervention content, duration, and frequency Provide information on implementation costs Report the degree to which the intervention was delivered and received as intended Indicate the theoretical approach Increased focus on testing multileveled interventions based on social ecological models
	Example articles addressing implementation: Davis et al., 2008; and Schillinger et al., 2009; report on duration and frequency and extent protocol delivered as intended Bosworth et al., 2009; Murray et al., 2007; reported measure of cost and included fixed and variable costs association with intervention implementation and compared these costs among their study groups None of the reviewed studies reported on all three implementation dimensions
Maintenance	Add follow-up assessments that occur at least 6 months after the intervention is completed to understand individual level maintenance Report the degree to which the intervention is sustained in the community or clinical setting Report on costs to maintain interventions
	Example articles addressing maintenance: Bosworth et al., 2009; Dewalt et al., 2006; and Rudd et al., 2009; each report at least a 6-month follow-up assessment None of the reviewed studies reported on all three maintenance dimensions