142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Assessing health literacy levels of Spanish speaking Hispanic patients at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in the Midwest

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Arrmando De Alba, MD, MPH , Health Promotion Social and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center-College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Denise H. Britigan, PhD, MA, CHES , Department of Health Promotion, Social, and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center-College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Elizabeth Lyden, MS , Department of Health Promotion, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Patrik Johansson, MD MPH , Department of Social and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Background

Census Bureau data indicated that between 2000 and 2010 the increase of Hispanics in the U.S. was most significant in the Midwest and South. Studies show that Hispanic adults have the lowest average health literacy among all racial/ethnic groups and that low levels of health literacy are linked with health disparities. However, very little is known about the health literacy of Hispanic populations in the Midwest.

Methods

This study measured health literacy levels in a cross-sectional sample of 401 Spanish speaking Hispanic participants using healthcare services in two federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in Nebraska. The survey instrument used contained demographic questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and included the “Short Assessment of Health Literacy-S”, a 2-3 minute, 18 item test which has been validated for use in Latin-American countries. Fisher’s exact test was used to evaluate associations between demographic variables and low health literacy.

Results

A total of 36% of the participants had a low health literacy level (LHLL). Looking at gender, 45% of males versus 31% of females demonstrated LHLL (p=0.009). With respect to education level, 61% with <7th grade education had LHLL compared to 17% with ≥7th grade education (p<0.0001). Additionally, 55% of participants from Central and South-America had LHLL contrasted with 29% of Mexican origin (p<0.0001).

Conclusions

Low levels of health literacy reported in this study are consistent with previous assessments of health literacy in Hispanics. We observed statistically significant differences in LHLL based on gender, education level, and country of origin.

Learning Areas:

Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate health literacy levels in Spanish speaking Hispanic adults accessing healthcare services in federally qualified health centers in the Midwest.

Keyword(s): Health Literacy, Latinos

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am physician by training with a Masters degree in Public Health. My MPH concentration was in health promotion and community health education. I am the co-investigator on the study and I was involved in all phases of the study, including the development of the instrument used. I also was a Spanish language interviewer on the study and I analyzed and interpreted the data.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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