ISSN: 2161-0711

Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education
Open Access

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  • Research Article   
  • J Community Med Health Educ 2018, Vol 8(3): 613
  • DOI: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000613

Evaluation of Health Literacy in Veteran Affairs Outpatient Population: A Focus on Patient Self-Perceived Health Status

Rasu RS1*, Bawa WA1, Hu A1, Sharma R2, Stahnke AM2,3 and Burros S2
1School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Kansas, USA
2Kansas City Veteran Affairs Medical Center, , Research Kansas City, USA
3School of Pharmacy, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri, USA
*Corresponding Author : Rasu RS, School of Pharmacy, University of Kansas, Kansas, USA, Tel: 913-588-5360, Fax: 913-588-2355, Email: rrasu2@kumc.edu

Received Date: May 04, 2018 / Accepted Date: May 28, 2018 / Published Date: Jun 04, 2018

Abstract

Health literacy is of great importance for clinicians to maximize patient involvement and in the effective delivery of healthcare services. Health literacy driven health communication strategies may encourage appropriate and optimal use of healthcare resources and medications. We evaluated health literacy level in veterans with unique population demographics and focused on patient self-perceived health status (SPHS). Veterans (N=194) were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Only 40% had poor or inadequate health literacy level. Older individuals displayed poorer health literacy level. 57.2% of the patients had good/above SPHS. Patients with good or above SPHS had 1.7 times higher (OR: 1.68, 95% CI=0.79-3.54) compared to patients with below good SPHS. Veterans with hospitalization were 11% less likely (OR=0.89) to report good or adequate health literacy level compared to those not hospitalized. Veterans with good or adequate health literacy level perceived their health status to be better than veterans with poor or inadequate health literacy. Using plain and simple language by providers while counseling patients about their disease and medications, might have a positive ripple effect on the current patient-centered care delivery. Clinicians could use a tailored approach to improve communication with patients.

Keywords: Veteran; Health literacy; Medication use; Numeracy skills; Self-perceived health status

Citation: Rasu R, Bawa WA, Anna Hu, Sharma R, Stanke A, et al. (2018) Evaluation of Health Literacy in Veteran Affairs Outpatient Population: A Focus on Patient Self-Perceived Health Status. J Community Med Health Educ 8: 613. Doi: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000613

Copyright: © 2018 Rasu R, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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