Page 33 - Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 5th Edition

Health Literacy/Client Compliance 33

VetBooks.ir Box 3-1. Health Literacy in an Older Man.

A 64-year-old man, with a history of noncompliance, was evaluat-
ed for a routine checkup. According to the resident, he hadn’t ument illiteracy.” That is, they lack the ability to read and under-
stand transportation schedules and food and drug labels. These
taken his medications for diabetes or a heart problem for several people cannot read a television program to find what time a pro-
weeks. Before leaving he received instructions about his medica- gram will be aired. Twenty percent have below basic “quantitative
tions, their importance and the proper doses. He disclosed he literacy,” the ability to perform fundamental quantitative tasks such
would see his doctor for follow-up, but couldn’t remember the per- as comparing ticket prices for two events. Older people (i.e., >64
son’s name. He was given a handwritten discharge summary. years) fared the poorest on the NAAL; 23% had below average
He was seen five months later at a community clinic. He said he prose literacy, 27% below basic document literacy and 34% below
was taking his medications, but couldn’t remember their names or basic quantitative skills.
dosages. The regimen was reviewed a second time; dates for Survey results indicate more than one-third of English-speaking
blood tests were provided. He was scheduled for a recheck in two patients and more than half of primarily Spanish-speaking patients
weeks. at U.S. hospitals have low literacy. Often, these people present in
When he returned, a medical student made a diagnosis that no the emergency room rather than a clinic because someone there
one had considered: illiteracy. Many of his glucose values had will always write the information down so they don’t have to do it
been written for future dates and he was unable to read his list of themselves.
medications. The man lived alone, dropped out of school in the Patients with low literacy skills are often ashamed of their prob-
second grade and had never learned to read. lem, with two-thirds never telling their spouses.
Despite avoiding jargon and use of simple language, his med- One clinician thinks that literacy screening should become a
ical team–comprised of many doctors, nurses and social work- new vital sign. But that approach is controversial; no one wants to
ers–had not guessed he couldn’t read. be embarrassed especially in front of his or her doctor. And there
This patient’s problem is not uncommon. Fourteen percent of is little time to collect more information now in clinical practice.
the adults in the U.S. have substandard prose ability:“ability to use However, much has been written on the topic.
printed and written information to function in society, to achieve The patient described at the beginning of this case, with help,
one’s goals and potential.” According to The National Assessment enrolled in an adult reading course, but it’s still not clear if he takes
of Adult Literacy (NAAL), these substandard skills “are no more all his medications as prescribed.
than the most simple and concrete literacy skills: ranging from
those completely illiterate to those who can identify short phrases. The Bibliography for Box 3-1 can be found at
Other facts: based on NAAL data, 12% of U.S. adults have “doc- www.markmorris.org.

with reading alone, but often consider literacy to represent a ed literacy. This higher use has been associated with higher
constellation of skills including reading, writing, basic mathe- health care costs (IOM, 2004). The Institute for HealthCare
matical calculations and speech and speech comprehension Advancement estimates that the average annual health care
skills (Kirsch, 2001; Healthy People 2010) (Table 3-2). costs of people with very low health literacy may be four times
greater than that of the general population (Sarasohn-Kahn,
Problems Associated with Inadequate Health 2002). In a small Arizona study, patients with reading levels at
Literacy or below third grade had mean Medicaid charges $7,500 high-
Individuals with inadequate health literacy (as currently meas- er than those who read above the third grade (Weiss and
ured) report less knowledge about their medical conditions and Palmer, 2004).
treatment, worse health status, less understanding and use of Inadequate health literacy is particularly common among
preventive services and a higher rate of hospitalization than older adults and low-income patients. More than 66% of U.S.
those with marginal or adequate health literacy (Parker et al, adults age 60 and older have inadequate or marginal literacy
2003). skills and about 45% of all functionally illiterate adults live in
Inadequate health literacy is a hidden problem. People with poverty (AMA Foundation, 2000).
limited health literacy skills may be embarrassed to discuss or A study of 2,659 outpatients at two hospitals found that 42%
even mention problems they encounter with the health care did not understand instructions to “take medication on an
system (Baker et al, 1996; Parikh et al, 1996). empty stomach.” The same study found a 52% increase in the
Health care personnel assume patients are telling everything, risk of hospitalization among patients with inadequate literacy
which is clearly not the case (Box 3-1). Studies show that a compared with patients with adequate literacy (Williams et al,
large percentage of patients are noncompliant and that health 1995). In the largest study of health literacy to date, one-third
care professionals significantly underestimate how common of English-speaking patients at two public hospitals were
noncompliance is (Hall et al, 1988). unable to read basic health materials. Twenty-six percent were
Two recent studies demonstrated a higher rate of hospitaliza- unable to understand information on an appointment slip and
tion and use of emergency services among patients with limit- 60% did not understand a standard informed consent docu-