Brief report
The impact of low health literacy on surgical practice

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2004.04.005Get rights and content

Abstract

Background

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.

Methods

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.

Results

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.

Conclusions

Low health literacy was common among older patients and appeared to be associated with lower adherence to preoperative medication instructions.

Section snippets

Acknowledgements

This study was funded and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and Department of Veterans Affairs. The authors thank the patients and clinical staff of the VA Puget Sound Outpatient Evaluation Center for their participation and support. They also thank Leticia Lew, Alan Zander, John Amory, M.D., and Margaret Mitchell for their invaluable contributions, and Soo Borson, M.D., for allowing them to use the Mini-Cog in their study.

References (10)

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