health literacy
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Introduction
The degree to which a person can obtain, process & understand health information in order to make informed health decisions
Epidemiology
- 12% of US population considered health literate for complex medical decisions
- 53% of US population considered health literate for most medical decisions
- 36% of US with inadequate health literacy
- elderly with low health literacy are more likely to
- have a lower income
- have achieved lower education,
- rate their health as fair or poor
- have sensory impairment (hearing impairment or vision impairment)[1]
Clinical significance
- health literacy is a determinant in patient's participation in their own healthcare
- low health literacy can interfere with ability of patients to understand treatment plans & result in poor health outcomes & ineffective use of healthcare resources[1]
- low health literacy is the most common cause of medical non-compliance[1]
- a common cause of recurrent hospitalization is the persistence of underlying risk factors as a result of low health literacy (GRS12)[2]
- lower health literacy associated with higher risk of medication errors
- higher health literacy associated with better health outcomes
- low health literacy is associated with elevated all-cause mortality[3]
- screening for low health literacy will not improve medical compliance
Management
- elderly with low health literacy may need assistance with:
- filling out medical forms
- following the instructions on their medication bottles
- understanding written & verbal information presented to them by their health care provider
Notes
- health professionals have difficulty detecting low health literacy in elderly patients[1]
- patients may do their best to hide their health literacy from health professionals[1]
- patients with low health literacy come from all social, ethnic, & racial backgrounds & may function well in other domains[1]
- distrust of the medical system & denial of illness are factors that contribute to low health literacy (GRS11)[1]
Additional terms
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Geriatric Review Syllabus, 7th edition Parada JT et al (eds) American Geriatrics Society, 2010
Geriatric Review Syllabus, 9th edition (GRS9) Medinal-Walpole A, Pacala JT, Porter JF (eds) American Geriatrics Society, 2016
Geriatric Review Syllabus, 11th edition (GRS11) Harper GM, Lyons WL, Potter JF (eds) American Geriatrics Society, 2022
Geriatric Review Syllabus (GRS12) Colburn JL, Westcott AM, Potter JF (eds) American Geriatrics Society. 2025 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kutner M et al Patient literacy and question-asking behavior during the medical encounter: a mixed-methods analysis. J Gen Intern Med. 2007 Jun;22(6):782-6. Epub 2007 Apr 12. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17431697
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bostock S and Steptoe A. Association between low functional health literacy and mortality in older adults: Longitudinal cohort study. BMJ 2012 Mar 15; 344:e1602 PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22422872
- ↑ Berkman ND, Sheridan SL, Donahue KE, Halpern DJ, Crotty K. Low health literacy and health outcomes: an updated systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2011 Jul 19;155(2):97-107. Review. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21768583
- ↑ Garcia CH, Espinoza SE, Lichtenstein M, Hazuda HP. Health literacy associations between Hispanic elderly patients and their caregivers. J Health Commun. 2013;18 Suppl 1:256-72. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24093360 Free PMC Article
- ↑ James BD, Boyle PA, Bennett JS, Bennett DA. The impact of health and financial literacy on decision making in community-based older adults. Gerontology. 2012;58(6):531-9. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22739454 Free PMC Article
- ↑ Ali NK, Ferguson RP, Mitha S, Hanlon A. Do medical trainees feel confident communicating with low health literacy patients? J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2014 Apr 14;4. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24765262 Free PMC Article
- ↑ Grice GR, Tiemeier A, Hurd P et al Student use of health literacy tools to improve patient understanding and medication adherence. Consult Pharm. 2014 Apr;29(4):240-53. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24704893
- ↑ Negarandeh R, Mahmoodi H, Noktehdan H et al Teach back and pictorial image educational strategies on knowledge about diabetes and medication/dietary adherence among low health literate patients with type 2 diabetes. Prim Care Diabetes. 2013 Jul;7(2):111-8. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23195913
- ↑ Glass AP, Butler DQ. Health literacy and older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2010 Jan;58(1):152-3. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20122046
- ↑ Yen PH, Leasure AR. Use and effectiveness of the teach-back method in patient education and health outcomes. Fed Pract. 2019;36:284-9. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31258322
- ↑ Baker S, Malone E, Graham L et al Patient-reported health literacy scores are associated with readmissions following surgery. Am J Surg. 2020 Nov;220(5):1138-1144. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32682501
- ↑ Nutbeam D, Lloyd JE. Understanding and Responding to Health Literacy as a Social Determinant of Health. Annu Rev Public Health. 2021 Apr 1;42:159-173. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33035427 Free article. Review. https://www.annualreviews.org/docserver/fulltext/publhealth/42/1/annurev-publhealth-090419-102529.pdf
- ↑ Theiss LM, Wood T, McLeod MC et al The association of health literacy and postoperative complications after colorectal surgery: A cohort study. Am J Surg. 2022 Jun;223(6):1047-1052. PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34728069 PMCID: PMC9012791 Free PMC article.
- ↑ AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit. https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/publications/files/healthlittoolkit2_3.pdf