Low Health Literacy and Health Outcomes: An Updated Systematic Review

Purpose Although patients and lay people are often more knowledgeable about medical conditions than their predecessors, the dominant culture’s increased involvement in understanding their health and making treatment decisions does not translate into consistently more informed patients. High health literacy is associated with both improved health outcomes and receiving better quality-of-care. Low health literacy disproportionately affects people from marginalized ethnic and language groups. Regardless of how a particular clinician feels about a patient, malapropisms and mis-attributions may cause patients to appear less intelligent or to have lower perceived health literacy, potentially affecting their healthcare experiences with other clinicians. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper discusses the evidence for “up-skilling” patients and uses principles from conversation analysis to demonstrate how malapropisms can be corrected sensitively. Clinician training in skilled communication using the conversation analytic role-play method is also addressed. Findings Malapropisms are best corrected through modelling rather than calling attention to the error directly, as this allows the patient to save face. Explanations using drawings and clearly written materials may also be useful. Originality/value Helping patients to improve their communication with clinicians may lead to improved health outcomes through improved quality-of-care.

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Impact of Health Literacy on Health Outcomes in Ambulatory Care Patients: A Systematic Review

Annals of Pharmacotherapy ◽

10.1345/aph.1l093 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 42 (9) ◽

pp. 1272-1281 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

Darcie L Keller ◽

Julie Wright ◽

Heather A Pace

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Ambulatory Care

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Systematic Review of Health Literacy in Childhood Cancer Patients, Survivors, and Their Caregivers

Journal of Pediatric Psychology ◽

10.1093/jpepsy/jsaa009 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (4) ◽

pp. 373-385

Author(s):

Courtney Lynn ◽

Lauren Quast ◽

Hannah Rogers ◽

Karen Effinger ◽

Jordan Gilleland-Marchak

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Childhood Cancer ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Adequate Health Literacy ◽

Pediatric Cancer Patients ◽

Demographic Correlates ◽

The Impact

Abstract Objective This systematic review examined the literature regarding health literacy among pediatric cancer patients, survivors, and their caregivers. Specific aims were to identify and summarize measures used, levels of and demographic correlates of health literacy, effects of health literacy interventions, and associations between health literacy and health outcomes. Methods The search strategy was executed in the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, and the Cochrane Library. Of the 842 unique studies retrieved, 9 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. Results Studies used a variety of validated and study-specific measures with no measure emerging as the standard. Levels of health literacy were typically assessed subjectively and across studies the majority of those sampled self-reported adequate health literacy. Few studies examined demographic correlates of health literacy, precluding the identification of consistent predictors. Health literacy intervention research for this population is in its infancy and only pilot projects were identified; effects could not be evaluated. No studies assessed the impact of health literacy on health outcomes. Conclusions Very few studies assessed health literacy in pediatric oncology. As treatment for childhood cancer becomes increasingly complex, and patients and caregivers are expected to have adequate understanding of health information, health literacy is a critical construct that should not be overlooked.

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Health Literacy and Child Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of the Literature

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.2009-1162b ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 124 (Supplement 3) ◽

pp. S265-S274 ◽

Cited By ~ 300

Author(s):

Darren A. DeWalt ◽

Ashley Hink

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Child Health ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

Child Health Outcomes ◽

And Child Health

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Low health literacy and excess body weight: a systematic review

Central European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.21101/cejph.a5172 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 234-241 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Maria Michou ◽

Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos ◽

Vassiliki Costarelli

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Body Weight ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Excess Body Weight ◽

Low Health Literacy

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Intervention Based on Integration of Health Literacy and Health Outcomes in Hypertension “A Systematic Review”

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3889/oamjms.2021.6489 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (F) ◽

pp. 486-491

Author(s):

Samsiana Samsiana ◽

Syamsiar Siang Russeng ◽

Ridwan Amiruddin

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Hypertensive Patient ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Self Management ◽

Bibliographic Databases ◽

Hypertensive Patients ◽

Adequate Health Literacy ◽

Low Health Literacy ◽

Patient Health

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive patients with low health literacy rarely visit health services, therefore, they have more chances of being hospitalized in comparison with those having a more adequate health literacy. AIM: This article aims to identify intervention based on integration of health literacy and its outcome in hypertensive patients. METHODS: Articles were searched using four bibliographic databases, namely, ProQuest, Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar. PRISMA 2015 is used as a guideline for determining which articles are selected, one of the criteria being published on 2011–2021. RESULTS: A total of 25,264 articles were obtained from the four databases. Seven articles were selected after the extraction and incorporation of the inclusion criteria. The health outcomes of hypertension sufferers after receiving intervention based on integration of health literacy were divided into three groups; medical health outcomes, health literacy skills, and hypertension self-management behavioral. CONCLUSION: An intervention integrated with health literacy and considering the hypertensive patient health literacy in its own will increase the health outcomes of hypertensive patient.

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How is eHealth literacy measured and what do the measurements tell us? A systematic review

Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal ◽

10.34105/j.kmel.2015.07.038 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 576-600 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Digital Literacy ◽

New Technologies ◽

Ehealth Literacy ◽

Health Technologies ◽

Cancer Screenings ◽

Different Populations ◽

The One

The increasing use of digital services and technologies in health care calls for effective tools to evaluate the users’ eHealth literacy in order to better understand the users’ interaction with health technologies. We here present a systematic review of existing tools to measure eHealth literacy and for what these tools have been used to investigate. We identified eight tools, of which three of them are bases upon a conceptual model of eHealth literacy and the remaining five are dual tools, i.a. comprised of individual measures for health literacy and digital literacy. Of these eight tools, only one tool (The eHealth literacy Scale - eHEALS) was used in other studies than the one it was originally published in. eHEALS has primarily been used to establish eHealth literacy levels in different populations. Five of the studies have been conducted by examining eHealth literacy’s impact on health outcomes, and one study has established an association between high eHealth literacy levels and increased likelihood of attending colorectal cancer screenings in a Japanese population. The two other concept-based tools, eHLS and PRE-HIT, reflect an elaborated understanding of eHealth literacy. The five dual tools were primarily used to screen for adequate and inadequate health literacy and digital literacy. In conclusion, there is very little knowledge about individuals’ eHealth literacy and how it relates to health outcomes or the clinical course of specific diseases. New tools developed for the new age of social media and new technologies should be used as eHEALS may have some limitations.

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