Lakhan Prabha, Askew Deborah, Harris Mark F, Kirk Corey, Hayman Noel
Southern Queensland Centre of Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care (Inala Indigenous Health Service), Metro South Health, PO Box 52, Inala, Qld 4077, Australia.
Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Aust J Prim Health. 2017 Sep;23(4):335-341. doi: 10.1071/PY16162.
Health literacy is an important determinant of health status. This cross-sectional study aimed to describe the prevalence of adequate health literacy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients or their carers including parents of sick children attending an urban primary healthcare clinic in Australia, and their experiences of communication with General Practitioners (GPs). A questionnaire, including questions from the Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS) and questions from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS): Communication with Provider, was administered to 427 participants. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's Chi-Square test and logistic regression analysis were used to describe the prevalence and risk factors associated with health literacy and any associations between the CAHPS questions and health literacy. In total, 72% of participants had adequate health literacy. An age of ≥50 years was independently associated with inadequate health literacy, and completion of secondary or post-secondary schooling was protective. Communication questions that identified areas for improvement included less use of incomprehensible medical words and more frequent use of visual aids. The study provides useful information on health literacy among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, or their carers, and their experiences of communication with GPs. Further population-based research is required to investigate the effect of health literacy on health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
健康素养是健康状况的一个重要决定因素。这项横断面研究旨在描述澳大利亚一家城市初级医疗诊所中，原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民患者或其护理人员（包括患病儿童的父母）具备足够健康素养的比例，以及他们与全科医生（GP）沟通的经历。一份问卷，包括来自简短健康素养筛查（BHLS）的问题以及来自医疗服务提供者和系统消费者评估（CAHPS）：与提供者沟通的问题，被发放给427名参与者。描述性统计、皮尔逊卡方检验和逻辑回归分析被用于描述与健康素养相关的患病率和风险因素，以及CAHPS问题与健康素养之间的任何关联。总体而言，72%的参与者具备足够的健康素养。年龄≥50岁与健康素养不足独立相关，完成中学或中学后教育具有保护作用。确定需要改进领域的沟通问题包括减少使用难以理解的医学词汇，以及更频繁地使用视觉辅助工具。该研究提供了关于原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民患者或其护理人员的健康素养，以及他们与全科医生沟通经历的有用信息。需要进一步开展基于人群的研究，以调查健康素养对原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民患者健康结果的影响。
