Journal of Surgical Research
Volume 140, Issue 2 , Pages 208-213 , 15 June 2007

Can Screening Items Identify Surgery Patients at Risk of Limited Health Literacy?

  • Lorraine S. Wallace, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Family Medicine, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, Tennessee
    • Corresponding Author InformationTo whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed at Department of Family Medicine, 1924 Alcoa Highway, U-67, Knoxville, TN 37920.
  • ,
  • David C. Cassada, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, Tennessee
  • ,
  • Edwin S. Rogers, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Family Medicine, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, Tennessee
  • ,
  • Michael B. Freeman, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, Tennessee
  • ,
  • Oscar H. Grandas, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, Tennessee
  • ,
  • Scott L. Stevens, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, Tennessee
  • ,
  • Mitchell H. Goldman, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Surgery, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, Knoxville, Tennessee

Received 5 January 2007

References 

  1. Weiss BD. Epidemiology of Low Health Literacy. In:  Schwartzberg JG,  VanGest JB,  Wang CC editor. Understanding Health Literacy. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association; 2005;p. 17–39
  2. Institute of Medicine. In:  Neilsen-Bohlman L,  Panzer AM,  Kindig DA editor. Health literacy: A prescription to end confusion. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2004;p. 59–107
  3. Berkman N, DeWalt D, Pignone , et al. Summary, Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 87 (prepared by RTI International University of North Carolina Evidence-Based Practice Center under contract no. 290-025-0016) Literacy and Health Outcomes. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2004;AHRQ Publication no. 04-E007-1
  4. Mancuso CA, Rincon M. Impact of health literacy on longitudinal asthma outcomes. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21:813
  5. Sudore RL, Mehta KM, Simonsick EM. Limited literacy in older people and disparities in health and healthcare access. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2006;54:770
  6. Kennen EM, Davis TC, Huang J, et al. Tipping the scales: The effect of literacy on obese patients’ knowledge and readiness to lose weight. South Med J. 2005;98:15
  7. Lindau ST, Tomori C, Lyons T, et al. The association of health literacy with cervical cancer prevention knowledge and health behaviors in a multiethnic cohort of women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2002;186:938
  8. Gazmararian JA, Williams MV, Peel J, et al. Health literacy and knowledge of chronic disease. Patient Educ Couns. 2003;51:267
  9. Weiss BD, Palmer R. Relationship between health care costs and very low literacy skills in a medically needy and indigent Medicaid population. J Am Board Fam Pract. 2004;17:44
  10. Howard DH, Gazmararian JA, Parker RM. The impact of low health literacy on the medical costs of Medicare managed care enrollees. Am J Med. 2005;118:371
  11. Baker DW, Gazmararian JA, Williams MV, et al. Functional health literacy and the risk of hospital admission among Medicare managed care enrollees. Am J Public Health. 2002;92:1278
  12. Schillinger D, Bindman A, Wang F, et al. Functional health literacy and the quality of physician–patient communication among diabetes patients. Patient Educ Couns. 2004;52:315
  13. Davis TC, Wolf MS, Bass PF, et al. Low literacy impairs comprehension of prescription drug warning labels. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21:847
  14. Wolf MS, Davis TC, Tilson HH, et al. Misunderstanding of prescription drug warning labels among patients with low literacy. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2006;63:1048
  15. Chew LD, Bradley KA, Flum DR, et al. The impact of low health literacy on surgical practice. Am J Surg. 2004;188:250
  16. Baker DW, Parker RM, Williams MV, et al. The health care experience of patients with low literacy. Arch Fam Med. 1996;5:329
  17. Parikh NS, Parker RM, Nurss JR, et al. Shame and health literacy: the unspoken connection. Patient Educ Couns. 1996;27:33
  18. Meade CD, McKinney WP, Barnas GP. Educating patients with limited literacy skills: The effectiveness of printed and videotaped materials about colon cancer. Am J Public Health. 1994;84:119
  19. Bass PF, Wilson JF, Griffith CH, et al. Residents’ ability to identify patients with poor literacy skills. Acad Med. 2002;77:1039
  20. Rogers ES, Wallace LS, Weiss BD. Misperceptions of medical understanding in low-literacy patients: Implications for cancer prevention. Cancer Control. 2006;13:225
  21. Kelly PA, Haidet P. Physician overestimation of patient literacy: A potential source of health care disparities. Patient Educ Couns, in press.
  22. Davis TC, Long SW, Jackson RH, et al. Rapid estimate of adult literacy in medicine: A shortened screening instrument. Fam Med. 1993;25:391
  23. Parker RM, Baker DW, Williams MV, et al. The test of functional health literacy in adults: A new instrument for measuring patients’ literacy skills. J Gen Intern Med. 1995;10:537
  24. Baker DW, Williams MV, Parker RM, et al. Development of a brief test to measure functional health literacy. Patient Educ Couns. 1999;38:33
  25. Weiss BD, Mays MZ, Martz W, et al. Quick assessment of literacy in primary care: The newest vital sign. Ann Fam Med. 2005;3:514
  26. Chew LD, Bradley KA, Boyko EJ. Brief questions to identify patients with inadequate health literacy. Fam Med. 2004;36:588
  27. Wallace LS, Rogers ES, Roskos SE, et al. Screening items to identify patients with limited health literacy skills. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21:874
  28. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Available at http://www.brfss.gov accessed December 11, 2006.
  29. Nelson DE, Holtzman D, Bolen J. Reliability and validity of measures from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Soz Praventivmed. 2001;46:S3
  30. Davis TC, Kennen EM, Gazmararian JA, et al. Literacy Testing in Health Care Research. In:  Schwartzberg JG,  VanGest JB,  Wang CC editor. Understanding Health Literacy. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association; 2005;p. 157–179
  31. US Department of EducationKutner M, Greenberg E, Jin Y, et al. The health literacy of America’s adults: Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES 2006-483). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics; 2006;
  32. Bhattacharyya T. Evidence-based approaches to minimizing malpractice risk in orthopedic surgery. Orthopedics. 2005;28:378
  33. Morris NS, MacLean CD, Chew LD, et al. The single item literacy screener: Evaluation of a brief instrument to identify limited reading ability. BMC Fam Pract. 2006;7:21
  34. Bennett IM, Robbins S, Al Shamali N, et al. Screening for low literacy among adult caregivers of pediatric patients. Fam Med. 2003;35:585
  35. Weiss BD. In: Health literacy: A manual for clinicians. Chicago, IL: American Medical Association Foundation; 2003;p. 5–15
  36. Paasche-Orlow MK, Riekert KA, Bilderback A, et al. Tailored education may reduce health disparities in asthma self-management. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;172:980
  37. DeWalt DA, Malone RM, Bryant ME, et al. A heart failure self-management program for patients of all literacy levels: A randomized, controlled trial. BMC Health Serv Res. 2006;6:30
  38. Schillinger D, Piette J, Grumback K, et al. Closing the loop: Physician communication with diabetic patients who have low health literacy. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163:83

PII: S0022-4804(07)00038-8

doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2007.01.029

Journal of Surgical Research
Volume 140, Issue 2 , Pages 208-213 , 15 June 2007