Exploring the Impact of Instruction on College Students' Health Insurance Literacy

Abstract

Student health insurance literacy is an area of limited prior knowledge, and investigations into this topic have the potential to impact students' self-care strategies, self-efficacy, decision-making, and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with health insurance literacy and knowledge among undergraduate students. In this study, undergraduate students at one mid-Atlantic public university in the United States who did and did not receive instruction on health insurance were surveyed. Students were recruited from a course that offers formal instruction about health insurance and students in a comparison group at the same university were recruited from a general education participant pool. Participants (n = 364) completed an online anonymous survey that included demographics, experience with health insurance, health insurance knowledge, and health insurance literacy self-efficacy. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated participants in the course who received health insurance instruction scored higher on a measure of health insurance knowledge. Higher levels of health insurance self-efficacy was also associated with receiving instruction related to health insurance. Female gender and higher parental education were associated with a lower self-efficacy. Improving health insurance knowledge and self-efficacy among undergraduates is an important aspect of preparing students for post-graduate life where decisions about health insurance coverage and healthcare utilization will increase. Furthermore, increasing health insurance literacy may contribute to raising standards of health literacy, health care, and health care seeking across communities.

Keywords: College students; Education; Health insurance; Health literacy.