Health Literacy in Surgery (original) (raw)
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Health Literacy in Hand Surgery Patients: A Cross-Sectional Survey
The Journal of Hand Surgery, 2015
Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the levels of health literacy amongst patients admitted to the ENT department of Eskisehir Osmangazi University in June 2018. Methods: 200 patients (comprising 107 males and 93 females), selected at random, consented to the study. They were supplied with the Health Literacy Questionnaire, which was used to evaluate health literacy. Results: The majority of respondents indicated that they were unsure about whether particular symptoms related to disease or not, lack confidence in being able to read and fully comprehend a text about their disease and have difficulty comprehending and trusting doctors' advice. They experienced difficulty in weighing advantages and disadvantages of treatment options, finding information relating to symptomatology and particular diseases and being aware when a second opinion would be appropriate. There were deficits apparent in understanding both positive and negative influences of the environment, lifestyle and nutrition. Nutritional advice was poorly comprehended. By contrast, no difficulties were apparent in obtaining medical appointments, making contact with doctors or using medication as directed. Respondents were confident about how to act in an emergency and when to call an ambulance, when to go for checkups and how to locate information on the management and prevention of obesity, hypertension or hypercholesterolaemia. Conclusion: Health literacy is of prime importance in public health. Bolstering health literacy, especially where levels are low, is necessary. Healthcare staff need to work on being more easily understood in the interests of promoting effective communication across the entire social spectrum.
Health literacy assessment and patient satisfaction in surgical practice
Surgery, 2014
Background. Individuals with limited health literacy have barriers to patientÀphysician communication. Problems in communication are known to contribute to malpractice litigation. Concern exists, however, about the feasibility and patient acceptance of a health literacy assessment. This study was performed to determine the feasibility of health literacy assessment in surgical practice and its effect on patient satisfaction. Study design. Every patient seen in a Breast Surgery Clinic during a 2-year period was asked to undergo a health literacy assessment with the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) as part of the routine history and physical examination. During the year before routine NVS assessments and during the 2-year study period, all patients were asked to rate their ''overall satisfaction with clinic visit'' on a 5-point scale. Results. A total of 2,026 of 2,097 patients (96.6%) seen during the study were eligible for the health literacy assessment. Of those, no patients refused assessment, and only one patient was missed. Therefore, 2,025 of 2,026 eligible patients (99.9%) underwent the assessment. The average time for NVS assessment was 2:02 minutes. Only 19% of patients had adequate health literacy. Patient satisfaction ratings were slightly greater during the first year of the health literacy assessment (3.8 vs 3.7, P = .049) compared with the year prior to health literacy assessment and greater during the second year of health literacy assessment (4.1 vs 3.7, P < .0001). Conclusion. Routine health literacy assessment is feasible in surgical practice and results in no decrease in patient satisfaction. In fact, satisfaction was greater during the years when health literacy assessments were performed. (Surgery 2014;155:374-83.) From the
BMC health services research, 2017
Health literacy is simply defined as an individual's ability to access, understand and use information in ways that promote and maintain good health. Lower health literacy has been found to be associated with increased emergency department presentations and potentially avoidable hospitalisations. This study aimed to determine the health literacy of hospital inpatients, and to examine if associations exist between different dimensions of their health literacy, sociodemographic characteristics and hospital services use. A written survey was sent to 3,252 people aged ≥18 years in English, Arabic, Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian or Greek. The survey included demographic and health questions, and the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ). The HLQ is a multidimensional instrument comprising nine independent scales. Use of hospital services was measured by length of stay, number of admissions in 12 months and number of emergency department presentations. Effect size (ES) for standardised di...
Patient education outcomes in surgery: a systematic review from 2004 to 2010
International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 2012
Rationale and objectives In 2004, Johansson and colleagues, in their systematic review covering the years 1990-2003, documented education interventions and their effectiveness in the treatment of surgical patients. While they provide a review of the state of knowledge until 2003, recent trends in preoperative education and its effects on postoperative patients' outcomes have not been documented in a systematic review. The aim of this study was to describe preoperative educational interventions (including content and delivery time) and postoperative outcomes as considered in studies evaluating the effectiveness for patients undergoing major surgery published from 2004 to 2010. Methods A systematic review of preoperative education and its effects on postoperative patient outcomes was undertaken. A search was conducted of the PubMed, CINAHL and EBMR databases, including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Randomised controlled trials, or at least clinical trials including pre-/post-test evaluations, with educational interventions performed by nurses preoperatively and outcomes evaluated postoperatively, and written in English, were included. Results A total of 19 studies involving 3944 patients were retrieved. Of these, 12 were randomised controlled trials. Interventions were based on verbal education, on written/visual education, or both. The content of interventions varied widely. Frequent outcomes evaluated were anxiety, knowledge, pain and length of stay. Objective knowledge (what a patient retains from education) was the only positive outcome influenced by education. Conclusions Current trends in preoperative education are: scheduling education early; increased frequency of message exposure through several interventions and/or reinforcements; content frequently addressing postoperative management; the measurement of outcomes such as patients' cognitive, experiential and biophysiological aspects. Both the clinical and research implications that emerged from the findings are discussed.
A New Comprehensive Short-form Health Literacy Survey Tool for Patients in General
Asian Nursing Research, 2017
Purpose To validate a conceptual short-form health literacy 12 items questionnaire (HL-SF12) in patient populations. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted via a convenient sample of 403 patients from three departments of a community general hospital in the northern Taiwan. Patients’ health literacy was assessed with a validated HL-SF12, derived from the full scale, the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q), as well as a single-item from Chew’s Set of Brief Health Literacy Question. A reference population in Northern Taiwan (n = 928) via the HLS-EU-Q in 2013–2014 was used as a reference to compare the health literacy between that of the general public and the patients. Data was analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency analysis, correlation analysis, and linear regression models. Results Patients’ health literacy assessed with the HL-SF12 was shown with high internal consistency (Cronbach α = .87), and moderately correlated with the single-item from Chew's Set of Brief Health Literacy Question, with satisfactory item-scale convergent validity (item-scale correlation ≥ .40), without floor/ceiling effect, and with satisfactory goodness of fit indices of the three-factor construct model for most of the patients. Their health literacy was significantly positively associated with female gender, higher income, and more often watching health-related TV programs. On the other hands, patients were reported with significantly higher healthcare health literacy than the general public, but not in general health literacy, disease prevention health literacy, or health promotion health literacy. Conclusion The comprehensive HL-SF12 was a valid and easy to use tool for assessing patients’ health literacy in the hospitals to facilitate healthcare providers in enhancing patients’ health literacy and healthcare qualities.
Health literacy and patient comprehension in the pre-anaesthetics consultation
2015
Background: The concept of health literacy and patient comprehension is important, especially in the area of patient consent for surgical procedures. This extends to the preadmissions anaesthetic consultation where poor patient health literacy can have an impact on the patient's comprehension of risks. Objectives: This exploratory study aims to investigate the level of health literacy and comprehension in a population of patients attending a pre-admissions anaesthetic clinic. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to survey adult participants (≥18yrs old) attending a regional based pre-anaesthetics clinic. Information gathered as part of the survey included demographic information, health literacy scores (via a previously validated tool), and questions pertaining to the comprehension of their consultation. Results: In total, 51 patients participated in the study. Patients were divided into two subgroups (inadequate/ marginal vs. adequate), depending on their screened l...