Open AccessHealth Numeracy and Relative Risk Comprehension in Perioperative Patients and Physicians
Author(s) -
Ryan R Hayter,
Aaron S. Hess
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
anesthesia and analgesia/anesthesia and analgesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.404
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1526-7598
pISSN - 0003-2999
DOI - 10.1213/ane.0000000000004816
Subject(s) - medicine , numeracy , health literacy , anesthesiology , perioperative , population , family medicine , pediatrics , health care , literacy , surgery , environmental health , anesthesia , economics , economic growth
Helping patients to understand relative risks is challenging. In discussions with patients, physicians often use numbers to describe hazards, make comparisons, and establish relevance. Patients with a poor understanding of numbers-poor "health numeracy"-also have difficulty making decisions and coping with chronic conditions. Although the importance of "health literacy" in perioperative populations is recognized, health numeracy has not been well studied. Our aim was to compare understanding of numbers, risk, and risk modification between a patient population awaiting surgery under general anesthesia and attending physicians at the same center.