Graham Moon|Grant Aitken|Paul Roderick|Simon Fraser|Gill Rowlands
Towards an understanding of the relationship of functional literacy and numeracy to geographical health inequalities
University of Southampton|University of Southampton|University of Southampton|University of Southampton|Newcastle University
relative contributions functional literacy functional numeracy health disparities remain poorly understood developed world contexts seek unpack distinctive contributions examine contributions framed placebased deprivation rurality present multilevel logistic analysis 2011 skills life survey sfls representative governmental survey adults aged 1665 england outcome measures selfassessed health status presence selfreported longterm health conditions exposure variables functional literacy fl functional numeracy fn age sex individual socioeconomic status ethnicity whether english first language nonuk birthplaces housing tenure geography included potential confounders mediators geography measured areabased deprivation urbanrural status fl fn independently associated selfassessed health status though association attenuated taking account confounders mediators longterm conditions association fn remained significant following inclusion confounders mediators whilst fl attenuated nonsignificance rurality influence associations area deprivation significant factor attenuating association fl selfassessed health status policy makers health professionals need aware distinctive impact fn well fl combating health inequalities promoting health managing longterm conditions