When Positive is Negative: Health Literacy Barriers to Patient Access to Clinical Laboratory Test Results

Abstract Background Health literacy is a multidimensional set of skills (e.g., narrative, numeracy, digital, medication) that patients need to access and understand health information timely and accurately to make evidence-based informed decisions. Content Multiple barriers prevent patients from eff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of applied laboratory medicine 2023-11, Vol.8 (6), p.1133-1147
Main Author: Lazaro, Gerardo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinical Laboratory Techniques
Health Literacy - methods
Humans
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Summary:Abstract Background Health literacy is a multidimensional set of skills (e.g., narrative, numeracy, digital, medication) that patients need to access and understand health information timely and accurately to make evidence-based informed decisions. Content Multiple barriers prevent patients from effectively interacting with health information. The most salient barriers are poor overall health literacy skills and linguistic proficiency in English. As patients prefer direct access to laboratory test results, especially those of routine tests, contextualization and provider-directed interpretation of results are required to foster shared decision-making to address their healthcare issues and improve health outcomes. Summary The use of systematic approaches that account for poor health literacy skills and include culturally and linguistically appropriate planning and availability of resources is warranted at individual and population health levels (e.g., human-centered design of patient portals).
ISSN:2576-9456
2475-7241
2475-7241
DOI:10.1093/jalm/jfad045