BACKGROUND: Limited literacy has repeatedly been linked to problems comprehending health information, although the majority of studies to date have focused on reading various print health materials. We sought to investigate patients' ability to recall spoken medical instructions in the context of a hypothetical clinical encounter, and whether limited health literacy would adversely affect performance on the task. METHODS: A total of 755 patients aged 55 to 74 were recruited from 1 academic internal medicine clinic and 3 federally qualified health centers. Participants' health literacy skills and recall of spoken medical instructions for 2 standard hypothetical video scenarios [wound care, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) diagnosis] were assessed. RESULTS: The majority (71.6%) of participants had adequate health literacy skills, and these individuals performed significantly better in correctly recalling spoken information than those with marginal and low literacy in both scenarios: [wound care-mean (SD): low 2.5 (1.3) vs. marginal 3.5 (1.3) vs. adequate 4.6 (1.1); P<0.001), GERD: low 4.2(1.7) vs. marginal 5.2 (1.7) vs. adequate 6.5 (1.7); P<0.001]. Regardless of literacy level, overall recall of information was poor. Few recognized pain (28.5%) or fever (28.2%) as signs of infection. Only 40.5% of participants correctly recalled when to take their GERD pills. CONCLUSIONS: Many older adults may have difficulty remembering verbal instructions conveyed during clinical encounters. We found those with lower health literacy to have poorer ability to recall information. Greater provider awareness of the impact of low health literacy on the recall of spoken instructions may guide providers to communicate more effectively and employ strategies to confirm patient understanding.
BACKGROUND: Limited literacy has repeatedly been linked to problems comprehending health information, although the majority of studies to date have focused on reading various print health materials. We sought to investigate patients' ability to recall spoken medical instructions in the context of a hypothetical clinical encounter, and whether limited health literacy would adversely affect performance on the task. METHODS: A total of 755 patients aged 55 to 74 were recruited from 1 academic internal medicine clinic and 3 federally qualified health centers. Participants' health literacy skills and recall of spoken medical instructions for 2 standard hypothetical video scenarios [wound care, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) diagnosis] were assessed. RESULTS: The majority (71.6%) of participants had adequate health literacy skills, and these individuals performed significantly better in correctly recalling spoken information than those with marginal and low literacy in both scenarios: [wound care-mean (SD): low 2.5 (1.3) vs. marginal 3.5 (1.3) vs. adequate 4.6 (1.1); P<0.001), GERD: low 4.2(1.7) vs. marginal 5.2 (1.7) vs. adequate 6.5 (1.7); P<0.001]. Regardless of literacy level, overall recall of information was poor. Few recognized pain (28.5%) or fever (28.2%) as signs of infection. Only 40.5% of participants correctly recalled when to take their GERD pills. CONCLUSIONS: Many older adults may have difficulty remembering verbal instructions conveyed during clinical encounters. We found those with lower health literacy to have poorer ability to recall information. Greater provider awareness of the impact of low health literacy on the recall of spoken instructions may guide providers to communicate more effectively and employ strategies to confirm patient understanding.
Authors: Elizabeth A H Wilson; Denise C Park; Laura M Curtis; Kenzie A Cameron; Marla L Clayman; Gregory Makoul; Keith Vom Eigen; Michael S Wolf Journal: Patient Educ Couns Date: 2010-08-04
Authors: Karin V Rhodes; Teri Vieth; Theresa He; Annette Miller; David S Howes; Olivia Bailey; James Walter; Richard Frankel; Wendy Levinson Journal: Ann Emerg Med Date: 2004-09 Impact factor: 5.721
Authors: Dean Schillinger; John Piette; Kevin Grumbach; Frances Wang; Clifford Wilson; Carolyn Daher; Krishelle Leong-Grotz; Cesar Castro; Andrew B Bindman Journal: Arch Intern Med Date: 2003-01-13
Authors: Christopher M Callahan; Frederick W Unverzagt; Siu L Hui; Anthony J Perkins; Hugh C Hendrie Journal: Med Care Date: 2002-09 Impact factor: 2.983
Authors: Laurie T Martin; Teague Ruder; José J Escarce; Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar; Daniel Sherman; Marc Elliott; Chloe E Bird; Allen Fremont; Charles Gasper; Arthur Culbert; Nicole Lurie Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2009-09-16 Impact factor: 5.128
Authors: Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles; Joy Goldsmith; Debra Parker Oliver; George Demiris; Robin L Kruse; Stephanie Van Stee Journal: J Palliat Med Date: 2013-08-12 Impact factor: 2.947
Authors: Theodore B Wright; Kathleen Adams; Victoria L Church; Mimi Ferraro; Scott Ragland; Anthony Sayers; Stephanie Tallett; Travis Lovejoy; Joan Ash; Patricia J Holahan; Blake J Lesselroth Journal: AMIA Annu Symp Proc Date: 2018-04-16
Authors: Maria Pisu; Cheryl L Holt; Aquila Brown-Galvan; Temeika Fairley; Judith Lee Smith; Arica White; Ingrid J Hall; Robert A Oster; Michelle Y Martin Journal: J Oncol Pract Date: 2014-01-02 Impact factor: 3.840
Authors: Megan L Salter; Mara A McAdams-Demarco; Andrew Law; Rebecca J Kamil; Lucy A Meoni; Bernard G Jaar; Stephen M Sozio; Wen Hong Linda Kao; Rulan S Parekh; Dorry L Segev Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2014-05-06 Impact factor: 5.562