Jori Fleisher|Krunal Shah|Whitney Fitts|Nabila Dahodwala
Associations and Implications of Low Health Literacy in Parkinson's Disease
New York University|University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania
abstract background low health literacy hl indicates limited ability understand use basic information make appropriate health care decisions whereas low hl associated higher morbidity mortality health care costs multiple chronic conditions little known hl associations parkinsons disease pd methods crosssectional study nondemented adults pd participating national parkinson foundation parkinsons outcomes project university pennsylvania subjects administered two brief hl assessmentsthe rapid estimate adult literacy medicineshort form realm sf wordrecognition test newest vital sign nvs test literacy numeracy understanding health informationas well demographic clinical questionnaires adverse outcomes included falls 3 months preceding study visit hospital admissions emergency room visits infections injuries preceding year caregiver burden measured using multidimensional caregiver strain index results total 168 subjects completed hl screens mean 658 years 655 male 652 h amp stage 2 using realm sf 976 subjects adequate hl using nvs however 298 low hl associated older age lower education male sex greater disease severity poorer cognition low hl associated hospital admission increased caregiver burden conclusions low hl common associated greater caregiver burden higher likelihood hospitalization patients pd hl associated disease severity adverse outcomes may important modifiable contributor morbidity