The impact of low health literacy on surgical practice

We sought to determine the prevalence of low health literacy (LHL) among patients in a preoperative clinic, the characteristics associated with LHL, and the association between LHL and adherence to preoperative instructions. We conducted a cohort study and interviewed patients at a VA preoperative c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of surgery 2004-09, Vol.188 (3), p.250-253
Main Authors: Chew, Lisa D., Bradley, Katharine A., Flum, David R., Cornia, Paul B., Koepsell, Thomas D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adherence to medication
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Age Factors
Aged
Ambulatory Surgical Procedures - education
Biological and medical sciences
Cognitive ability
Cohort Studies
Confidence intervals
Educational Status
Female
General aspects
Health care
Health care expenditures
Health care policy
Health education
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health literacy
Hospitals
Hospitals, Veterans
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Nurses
Outpatient Clinics, Hospital
Patient Compliance
Patient Education as Topic - methods
Patients
Preoperative Care - methods
Preoperative instructions
Reading
Secondary schools
Surgery
Surgical outcomes
VA clinic
Veterans
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Summary:We sought to determine the prevalence of low health literacy (LHL) among patients in a preoperative clinic, the characteristics associated with LHL, and the association between LHL and adherence to preoperative instructions. We conducted a cohort study and interviewed patients at a VA preoperative clinic. We administered a health literacy test and collected sociodemographic information. When patients returned for their scheduled surgical procedures, adherence to preoperative instructions was assessed. Of 332 participants, 12% (n = 40) had LHL. Low health literacy was more prevalent among older adults (more than 65 years) compared with those under age 65. Patients with LHL were more likely to be nonadherent to preoperative medication instructions (odds ratio = 1.9; 95% confidence interval: 0.8 to 4.8), but this was of borderline statistical significance. Low health literacy was common among older patients and appeared to be associated with lower adherence to preoperative medication instructions.
ISSN:0002-9610
1879-1883
DOI:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2004.04.005