Jesse P. Wright|Gretchen C. Edwards|Kathryn Goggins|Vikram Tiwari|Amelia W. Maiga|Kelvin A. Moses|Sunil Kripalani|Kamran Idrees
Association of Health Literacy With Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Major Abdominal Surgery
Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center|Vanderbilt University Medical Center
h3importanceh3 low health literacy known adversely affect health outcomes patients chronic medical conditions knowledge association health literacy postoperative outcomes studied indepth surgical patient population h3objectiveh3 evaluate association health literacy postoperative outcomes patients undergoing major abdominal surgery h3design setting participantsh3 november 2010 december 2013 1239 patients undergoing elective gastric colorectal hepatic pancreatic resections benign malignant disease single academic institution retrospectively reviewed patient demographics education insurance status procedure type american society anesthesiologists status charlson comorbidity index postoperative outcomes including length stay emergency department visits hospital readmissions reviewed electronic medical records health literacy levels assessed using brief health literacy screen validated tool administered nursing staff members hospital admission multivariate analysis used determine association health literacy levels postoperative outcomes controlling patient demographics clinical characteristics h3main outcomes measuresh3 association health literacy postoperative 30day emergency department visits 90day hospital readmissions index hospitalization length stay h3resultsh3 1239 patients participated study 624 504 women 1083 874 white 96 77 black 60 48 raceethnicity mean sd brief health literacy screen score 129 sd 275 range 315 median educational attainment 130 years patients lower health literacy levels longer length stay unadjusted 95 ci 095099ipi 004 adjusted 95 ci 003026ipi 02 analyses however lower health literacy significantly associated increased rates 30day emergency department visits 90day hospital readmissions h3conclusions relevanceh3 lower health literacy levels independently associated longer index hospitalization lengths stay patients undergoing major abdominal surgery role health literacy needs evaluated within surgical practices improve health care outcomes use