Group items tagged

Many older adults in Medicare managed care programs have low health literacy, and this may affect use of preventive services. Objectives. To determine whether older adults with inadequate health literacy were less likely to report receiving influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations, mammograms, and Papanicolaou smears than individuals with adequate health literacy after adjusting for other covariates. Research Design. Cross-sectional survey; home interviews with community dwelling enrollees. Subjects. Medicare managed care enrollees 65 to 79 years old in four US cities (n = 2722). Measures. Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults and self-reported preventive service use. Results. In bivariate analyses, self-reported lack of preventive services was higher among individuals with inadequate health literacy than those with adequate health literacy: never had an influenza vaccination: 29% versus 19% (P = 0.000); never had a pneumococcal vaccination: 65% versus 54% (P = 0.000); no mammogram in the last 2 years: 24% versus 17% (P = 0.017); never had a Papanicolaou smear: 10% versus 5% (P = 0.002). After adjusting for demographics, years of school completed, income, number of physician visits, and health status, people with inadequate health literacy were more likely to report they had never received the influenza (OR, 1.4% 95% CI, 1.1-1.9) or pneumococcal vaccination (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7), and women were less likely to have received a mammogram (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0-2.2) or Papanicolaou smear (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-3.1). Conclusions. Among Medicare managed care enrollees, inadequate health literacy is independently associated with lower use of preventive health services. (Abstract taken from JSTOR.)

Health literacy is basic reading and numerical skills that allow a person to function in the health care environment. Even though most adults read at an eighth-grade level, and 20 percent of the population reads at or below a fifth-grade level, most health care materials are written at a 10th-grade level. Older patients are particularly affected because their reading and comprehension abilities are influenced by their cognition and their vision and hearing status. Inadequate health literacy can result in difficulty accessing health care, following instructions from a physician, and taking medication properly. Patients with inadequate health literacy are more likely to be hospitalized than patients with adequate skills. Patients understand medical information better when spoken to slowly, simple words are used, and a restricted amount of information is presented. For optimal comprehension and compliance, patient education material should be written at a sixth-grade or lower reading level, preferably including pictures and illustrations. All patients prefer reading medical information written in clear and concise language. Physicians should be alert to this problem because most patients are unwilling to admit that they have literacy problems. (Am Fam Physician 2005;72:463-8. Copyright© 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians.)

This article discussed if social support is correlated with older adults health literacy. They also studied to see if the adults health was directly effected because of there health literacy.

This article expresses how health literacy and the understanding of that concept has changed through the past years. People are more aware of poor health, and of poor literacy. There are new researches, and other things being done to help those with poor health literacy and other things

This article discusses a study that was done to show the correlation between health literacy and social communication. It is based off of older adults who usually have more health problems. It was showed in this study that also the older adults tend to have more chronic illnesses, they have very low health literacy

This is a study that tested the mental health literacy of internet users. They measured different levels of depression through these test. They learned that if they intervene with these mental health disorders earlier, than they are easily fixed/switched by different means.

We sought to determine whether literacy mediates the relationship between education and glycemic control among diabetes patients. Methods: We measured educational attainment, literacy using the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (s-TOFHLA), and glycemic control (HbA1c) in 395 diabetes patients at a U.S. public hospital. We performed path analysis to compare two competing models to explain glycemic control. The direct effects model estimated how education was related to HbA1c; the mediational model estimated the strength of the direct relationship when the additional pathway from education to literacy to HbA1c was added. Results: Both the model with a direct effect of education on HbA1c and the model with literacy as a mediator were supported by good fit to observed data. The mediational model, however, was a significant improvement, with the additional path from literacy to HbA1c reducing the discrepancy from observed data (p<0.01). After including this path, the direct relationship between education and HbA1c fell to a non-significant threshold. Conclusions: In a low-income population with diabetes, literacy mediated the relationship between education and glycemic control. This finding has important implications for both education and health policy. (Abstract taken from JSTOR.)

This article is concerned with what it may mean to individuals to engage in practices that are physically challenging and risky. The article questions the assumptions that psychological health is commensurate with maintaining physical safety, and that risking one's health and physical safety is necessarily a sign of psychopathology. The research was based upon semi-structured interviews with eight extreme sport practitioners. The interviews were analysed using Colaizzi's version of the phenomenological method. The article explicates the themes identified in the analysis, and discusses their implications for health psychology theory and practice. Also available through the Electronic Journal Center at OhioLINK.

This article is concerned with what it may mean to individuals to engage in practices that are physically challenging and risky. The article questions the assumptions that psychological health is commensurate with maintaining physical safety, and that risking one's health and physical safety is necessarily a sign of psychopathology. The research was based upon semi-structured interviews with eight extreme sport practitioners. The interviews were analysed using Colaizzi's version of the phenomenological method. The article explicates the themes identified in the analysis, and discusses their implications for health psychology theory and practice.

This article is mentions the way in which doctors communicate to their patients about their health problems. So many patients do not have health literacy, which makes it very important for doctors to inform their patients properly.

This article is about an experiment/ study that was conducted about health literacy and adolescents. The study was conducted in Australia. It tested the mental health literacy of adolescents and the effected that SMS messages had on them. The study did not have exact outcomes and more research has to be done in order to report exact information.

This article is about an experiment that was done to test the knowledge of elderly adults. There were 137 participants and the test lasted for about five weeks. The test proved that if the elderly were given a course about internet and computer use, they were more open to using it and did not stress or have anxiety over it. They also were given internet/computer courses about health that improved there health literacy.

In this article they start out with background information about health and nutrition literacy. Then it is explained how important it is for people, and students to be made aware of this. It talks about the importance of having trainers and professionals help schools and people to increase there health.

This article mainly discusses the way that poverty is effecting people. It focuses a lot on the undeveloped countries and the way people are living in poverty. It also explains different aspects of health literacy and gives background information about it. It also talks about how people living in poverty struggle with health literacy.

This paper is a report of a reviews discussed the psychometric propertied of instruments used in health care education. This will measure the attitudes and health care of the children.

There are many misused drugs among College students. This analysis evaluates uses out these drugs in a 210 day study in which they trace how much first use and their trends of use. They then compare the uses to other non-students and other rages of age groups. They talk about the health risks associated with these patterns. This article can give me some good insight of trends of other college students. They can give me more precise measurements of trends instead of my survey which can be warped at any time. The health risks can help me with an argument towards different drugs that can be worse than others. Also some statistics like the number of college students using drugs can also help with my research paper.

This article first discusses what health literacy is, and has some background information. It then discusses how many patients have very low literacy levels. It talks about how health literacy can change how a patient recovers or understands there treatments

This article is about a study/experiment that was done with a group of adults that had visited a health clinic. The tested the performance of new vital signs, and if people were able to read them. This tested there literacy levels, and they had other ways of testing there literacy levels.

Marijuana is heavily repressed in the United States. There is repeated documentation that there are lower risks associated with marijuana use compared to alcohol consumption. Also our government spends billions of dollars yearly to fight the war on drug/marijuana. Socially the United States needs to reform laws to accommodate social and economic disputes. This article effectively attacks the problem in the United States with marijuana laws. This article entails the health risks and economic issues that can be resolved with legalization or decriminalization of marijuana. Medical documentation gives evidence of lower health risks with marijuana compared to alcohol.

Have Americans been seduced into overeating by the so-called health halo associated with certain foods and restaurants?