Stephanie R. Reading|Alan S. Go|Margaret C. Fang|Daniel E. Singer|In?Lu Amy Liu|Maureen M. Black|Natalia Udaltsova|Kristi Reynolds
Health Literacy and Awareness of Atrial Fibrillation
Kaiser Permanente|Kaiser Permanente|University of California, San Francisco|Massachusetts General Hospital|Kaiser Permanente|Kaiser Permanente|Kaiser Permanente|Kaiser Permanente
atrial fibrillation af common clinically significant arrhythmia adults major risk factor ischemic stroke nonetheless previous research suggests many individuals diagnosed af lack awareness diagnosis inadequate health literacy may important contributing factor findingwe examined association health literacy awareness af diagnosis large ethnically diverse cohort kaiser permanente northern southern california adults diagnosed af january 1 2006 june 30 2009 using selfreported questionnaire data completed may 1 2010 september 30 2010 awareness af diagnosis evaluated using question ever told doctor health professional heart rhythm problem called atrial fibrillation atrial flutter health literacy assessed using validated 3item instrument examining problems reading understanding filling medical forms 12 517 patients diagnosed af 145 aware af diagnosis 204 inadequate health literacy patients inadequate health literacy less likely aware af diagnosis compared patients adequate health literacy prevalence ratio096 95 ci 094 098 adjusting sociodemographics health behaviors clinical characteristicslower health literacy independently associated less awareness af diagnosis strategies designed increase patient awareness af complications warranted among individuals limited health literacy