TY - JOUR
T1 - Health literacy status and understanding of the prescription instructions in diabetic patients
AU - Singh, Shivangini
AU - Acharya, Sahana Devadasa
AU - Kamath, Ashwin
AU - Ullal, Sheetal D.
AU - Urval, Rathnakar P.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the support provided by the Short Term Studentship (STS) program of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in carrying out this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Shivangini Singh et al.
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - This study aimed to assess the health literacy (HL) of patients having diabetes mellitus, their understanding of prescription instructions (PI), and the correlation between HL and understanding of PI. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 263 adult diabetic patients who were assessed for their understanding of route of intake of the prescribed medication(s), frequency of intake, number of medication(s) to be consumed each time, indication for the medication(s), and the relation of drug intake with food. The HL of the patients was assessed by using Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine, a screening test comprising of 66 health-related words. The number of correctly pronounced words was used to assign a grade-equivalent reading level. There was a significant difference in the understanding of PI in patients with low and high HL levels. A significant difference was observed between the mean total score for interpreting PI in patients with 7 or fewer years of education compared with the other groups with a higher educational status (P < 0 001). To conclude, diabetic patients with low HL level will have difficulty in understanding PI. Hence, an alternative comprehensive strategy needs to be adopted in clinical practice in these patients to provide them the instructions to take medications properly.
AB - This study aimed to assess the health literacy (HL) of patients having diabetes mellitus, their understanding of prescription instructions (PI), and the correlation between HL and understanding of PI. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 263 adult diabetic patients who were assessed for their understanding of route of intake of the prescribed medication(s), frequency of intake, number of medication(s) to be consumed each time, indication for the medication(s), and the relation of drug intake with food. The HL of the patients was assessed by using Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine, a screening test comprising of 66 health-related words. The number of correctly pronounced words was used to assign a grade-equivalent reading level. There was a significant difference in the understanding of PI in patients with low and high HL levels. A significant difference was observed between the mean total score for interpreting PI in patients with 7 or fewer years of education compared with the other groups with a higher educational status (P < 0 001). To conclude, diabetic patients with low HL level will have difficulty in understanding PI. Hence, an alternative comprehensive strategy needs to be adopted in clinical practice in these patients to provide them the instructions to take medications properly.
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U2 - 10.1155/2018/4517243
DO - 10.1155/2018/4517243
M3 - Article
C2 - 29992169
AN - SCOPUS:85055644820
SN - 2314-6745
VL - 2018
JO - Journal of Diabetes Research
JF - Journal of Diabetes Research
M1 - 4517243
ER -
