TY - JOUR T1 - Is diabetes-specific health literacy associated with diabetes-related outcomes in older adults? JF - J Diabetes Y1 - 2011 A1 - Takashi Yamashita A1 - Cary S Kart KW - Adult KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Blood Glucose KW - Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 KW - Glycated Hemoglobin KW - Health Literacy KW - Humans KW - Logistic Models KW - Middle Aged KW - Multivariate Analysis KW - Self Care KW - Socioeconomic factors KW - Surveys and Questionnaires KW - United States AB -

BACKGROUND:  The present study examined the association between a measure of diabetes-specific health literacy and three different Type 2 diabetes outcome indicators in a national sample of older adults.

METHODS: Data were taken from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) 2003 Diabetes module and the HRS 2002 core wave. Analysis was performed on data from 1318 respondents aged 42-96 years [mean (±SD) 67.96 ± 8.65 years] who submitted responses on all relevant independent variable measures along with an HbA1c test kit. The index of diabetes-specific health literacy was constructed from responses to 10 diabetes self-care regimen items (α = 0.927).

RESULTS: Using a multivariate regression strategy to analyze weighted data, the diabetes-specific health literacy index was significantly and positively associated with self-graded assessment of diabetes self-care (R2 = 0.231). However, diabetes-specific health literacy was not independently associated with the HbA1c level or the average number of days five recommended self-management behaviors were practiced each week.

CONCLUSIONS:  No previous single study has focused on the relationship between diabetes-specific health literacy and multiple diabetes-related outcomes. The direct association of diabetes-specific health literacy with patients' assessment of their self-care practice acumen is useful information for the design of effective patient intervention and/or communication strategies. Health literacy is a broad, multidimensional construct that bridges basic literacy skills and various health and illness contexts. Because it is so important to adults engaged in the self-management of chronic illness, indicators of disease-specific knowledge and/or understanding should be included in efforts to measure health literacy.

PB - 3 VL - 3 IS - 2 N1 - Yamashita, Takashi Kart, Cary S Australia Journal of diabetes J Diabetes. 2011 Jun;3(2):138-46. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-0407.2011.00112.x. U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21599867?dopt=Abstract U3 - 21599867 U4 - Aged, 80 and over/Blood Glucose/ metabolism/Blood Glucose/ metabolism/Diabetes Mellitus/Type 2 Diabetes/Health Literacy/Health Literacy/HbA1c/Logistic Models/Middle Aged/Multivariate Analysis/Self Care/methods/Self Care/methods/Socioeconomic Factors ER -