Joseph Boyle|Theodore Speroff|Katherine Worley|Aize Cao|Kathryn Goggins|Robert S. Dittus|Sunil Kripalani
Low Health Literacy Is Associated with Increased Transitional Care Needs in Hospitalized Patients
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus|University of Colorado Denver|VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System|Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System|Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center
examine association health literacy number type transitional care needs tcn among patients discharged homea crosssectional analysis patients admitted academic medical centernurses administered brief health literacy screen documented tcns along 10 domains caregiver support transportation healthcare utilization highrisk medical comorbidities medication management medical devices functional status mental health comorbidities communication financial resourcesamong 384 patients analyzed 113 29 inadequate health literacy patients inadequate health literacy needs tcn domains mean 529 vs 436 p 0 001 unadjusted analysis patients inadequate health literacy significantly likely tcns 7 10 domains multivariate analyses inadequate health literacy remained significantly associated inadequate caregiver support odds ratio 261 95 confidence interval ci 137499 transportation barriers 169 95 ci 104276among hospitalized patients inadequate health literacy prevalent independently associated needs place patients higher risk adverse outcomes hospital readmission screening inadequate health literacy associated needs may enable hospitals address barriers improve postdischarge outcomes