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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 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.

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.

As health-care costs skyrocket, a down-to-earth approach to healing is emerging, complementing high-tech medicine with high-touch arts.

This article focus is on women and the 2000 Senate election. This focus on campaign strategies and the media women use when running for a position. Women usually take up more of the electoral voting then men. Women take up 55% percent of all elections and are more likely to be persuaded by campaign strategies because they often make their choice about who they are going to vote for more quickly than men. To attract women votes, candidates for a position often focus on education, health care and childcare. This article will be valuable to my research because it shows what candidates focus on in the media and campaigning when looking at women. It also shows that candidates pay more attention to women when campaigning earlier in their career. It also will help in explaining why candidates emphasize part of their campaign on certain issues to target women.

A study found that women still lag far behind men in top political and decision-making roles, though their access to education and health care is nearly equal.