Health Literacy Among Patients Diagnosed With Movement Disorders: A Pilot Study
Elements of these data were presented in poster presentation form at the 2008 AAPM&R conference in San Diego, CA.
Received 20 January 2009; accepted 20 May 2009.
Objective
The study sought to examine the functional health literacy in a sample of geriatric patients diagnosed with movement disorders. The hypothesis was that the study group would demonstrate marginal levels of health literacy scores on a standardized health literacy instrument.
Design/Setting
The study used a prospective analysis of patients referred to an outpatient movement disorders clinic in a Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Patients
Fifty-four men with a movement disorder volunteered for the study, with data analysis conducted on 44 of these patients.
Main Outcome Measurements
The primary outcome measure was the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA).
Results
Members of the current sample demonstrated adequate health literacy and scored significantly higher on the TOFHLA relative to the measure's normative sample. Younger age, more education, and higher Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) scores were predictive of health literacy.
Conclusions
The extant literature strongly suggests that limited health literacy is a frequent problem across the United States and represents a considerable obstacle to the effective delivery of health care. In a group of movement disorder subjects with a Folstein MMSE of at least 24, health literacy was generally well preserved. Years with movement disorder and severity of disorder did not impact health literacy. Thus, practitioners should not be prejudiced in a belief that individuals with movement disorders cannot manage their medications.
aSoutheastern Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC), Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA†
bSoutheastern Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC), Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Richmond, VA‡
cSoutheastern Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC), Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Richmond, VA§
dSoutheastern Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC), Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, 1201 Broad Rock Boulevard, Rm 2C-110, Richmond, VA 23249, and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Richmond, VA¶
eSoutheastern Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC), Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA∥
Address correspondence to W.C.
Supported by the Veterans Health Administration Southeastern Parkinson's Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC). The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of PADRECC.
Disclosure Key can be found on the Table of Contents and at www.pmrjournal.org
ABSTRACT