Patient-reported health literacy scores are associated with readmissions following surgery. Am J Surg 2020 Nov;220(5):1138-1144
Date
07/20/2020Pubmed ID
32682501DOI
10.1016/j.amjsurg.2020.06.071Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85087961457 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 17 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: Health literacy (HL) impacts medical care. We hypothesized that patients with low HL would have higher readmission rates following surgery.
METHODS: We conducted a prospective, multi-institutional study from 8/2015-6/2017 within the Veterans Affairs (VA) System including veterans who underwent general, vascular, or thoracic surgery. HL was assessed by Brief Health Literacy Screener and stratified into adequate vs. low. Patients were followed for 30 days post-discharge. Multivariable analyses examined correlations and logistic regression models adjusted for covariates.
RESULTS: 736 patients were enrolled in the study; 98% (n = 722) completed the HL survey. At discharge, 33.2% of patients had low HL. The overall 30-day readmission rate was 16.3%, with a significant difference by HL (Adequate HL: 13.3% vs. Low HL: 22.5%, p < 0.01). After adjusting for clinical and demographic covariates, patients with low HL were 59% more likely to be readmitted (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.02-2.50).
CONCLUSION: Low HL is common among VA surgery patients and is associated with readmission. Future studies should be focused on interventions to target this vulnerable patient population.
Author List
Baker S, Malone E, Graham L, Dasinger E, Wahl T, Titan A, Richman J, Copeland L, Burns E, Whittle J, Hawn M, Morris MAuthor
Jeffrey Whittle MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedFemale
Health Literacy
Hospitals, Veterans
Humans
Male
Marital Status
Middle Aged
Patient Readmission
Postoperative Complications
Prospective Studies
Reoperation
United States
