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Multicenter Study of Limited Health Literacy in Emergency Department Patients
Author(s) -
Ginde Adit A.,
Weiner Scott G.,
Pallin Daniel J.,
Camargo Jr Carlos A.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
academic emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.221
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1553-2712
pISSN - 1069-6563
DOI - 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2008.00116.x
Subject(s) - medicine , health literacy , emergency department , confidence interval , odds ratio , logistic regression , demography , literacy , multivariate analysis , gerontology , health care , psychiatry , sociology , economics , economic growth
Objectives: The objective was to evaluate the prevalence of limited health literacy and its association with sociodemographic variables in emergency department (ED) patients. Methods: This was a cross‐sectional survey in three Boston EDs. The authors enrolled consecutive adult patients during two 24‐hour periods at each site. They measured health literacy by the short version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S‐TOFHLA). Using multivariate logistic regression, the authors evaluated associations between sociodemographic variables and limited health literacy, as classified by S‐TOFHLA scores. Results: The authors enrolled 300 patients (77% of eligible). Overall, 75 (25%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 20% to 30%) of participants had limited health literacy. Limited health literacy was independently associated with older age (compared to 18–44 years, odds ratio [OR] 4.3 [95% CI = 2.0 to 9.2] for 45–64 years and OR 3.4 [95% CI = 1.4 to 8.5] for ≥65 years), less education (compared to high school graduates, OR 2.7 [95% CI = 1.1 to 7.3] for some high school or lower and OR 0.43 [95% CI = 0.21 to 0.88] for some college or higher), and lower income (OR 2.8 [95% CI = 1.2 to 6.6] for ≤$40,000 compared to >$40,000). Although ethnicity, race, and language were associated with limited health literacy in unadjusted analyses, the associations were not significant on multivariate analysis. Conclusions: In this sample, one‐quarter of ED patients would be expected to have difficulty understanding health materials and following prescribed treatment regimens. Advanced age and low socioeconomic status were independently associated with limited health literacy. The ability of a significant subgroup of ED patients to understand health information, especially during illness or injury, requires further study.