TY - JOUR
T1 - ABCs or 123s? The independent contributions of literacy and numeracy skills on health task performance among older adults
AU - Smith, Samuel G.
AU - Curtis, Laura M.
AU - O'Conor, Rachel
AU - Federman, Alex D.
AU - Wolf, Michael S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of Aging of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01AG030611 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Smith is currently supported by a Cancer Research UK Postdoctoral Fellowship ( C42785/A17965 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Authors.
PY - 2015/8/1
Y1 - 2015/8/1
N2 - Objective: To investigate the relationship between literacy and numeracy and their association with health task performance. Methods: Older adults (n= 304) completed commonly used measures of literacy and numeracy. Single factor literacy and numeracy scores were calculated and used to predict performance on an established set of health self-management tasks, including: (i) responding to spoken information; (ii) comprehension of print and (iii) multimedia information; and (iv) organizing and dosing medication. Total and sub-scale scores were calculated. Results: Literacy and numeracy measures were highly correlated (rs = 0.68; ps < 0.001). In multivariable models adjusted for age, gender, race, education, and comorbidity, lower literacy (β= 0.44, p<. 0.001) and numeracy (β= 0.44, p<. 0.001) were independently associated with worse overall task performance and all sub-scales (literacy range, β= 0.23-0.45, ps < 0.001; numeracy range, β= 0.31-0.41, ps < 0.001). Multivariable analyses with both constructs entered explained more variance in overall health task performance compared with separate literacy and numeracy models (8.2% and 10% respectively, ps < 0.001). Conclusion: Literacy and numeracy were highly correlated, but independent predictors of health task performance. These skill sets are complementary and both are important for health self-management. Practice implications: Self-management interventions may be more effective if they consider both literacy and numeracy skills rather than focusing on one specific ability.
AB - Objective: To investigate the relationship between literacy and numeracy and their association with health task performance. Methods: Older adults (n= 304) completed commonly used measures of literacy and numeracy. Single factor literacy and numeracy scores were calculated and used to predict performance on an established set of health self-management tasks, including: (i) responding to spoken information; (ii) comprehension of print and (iii) multimedia information; and (iv) organizing and dosing medication. Total and sub-scale scores were calculated. Results: Literacy and numeracy measures were highly correlated (rs = 0.68; ps < 0.001). In multivariable models adjusted for age, gender, race, education, and comorbidity, lower literacy (β= 0.44, p<. 0.001) and numeracy (β= 0.44, p<. 0.001) were independently associated with worse overall task performance and all sub-scales (literacy range, β= 0.23-0.45, ps < 0.001; numeracy range, β= 0.31-0.41, ps < 0.001). Multivariable analyses with both constructs entered explained more variance in overall health task performance compared with separate literacy and numeracy models (8.2% and 10% respectively, ps < 0.001). Conclusion: Literacy and numeracy were highly correlated, but independent predictors of health task performance. These skill sets are complementary and both are important for health self-management. Practice implications: Self-management interventions may be more effective if they consider both literacy and numeracy skills rather than focusing on one specific ability.
KW - Health communication
KW - Health literacy
KW - Numeracy
KW - Patient education
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pec.2015.04.007
DO - 10.1016/j.pec.2015.04.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 25936579
AN - SCOPUS:84945492501
VL - 98
SP - 991
EP - 997
JO - Patient Education and Counseling
JF - Patient Education and Counseling
SN - 0738-3991
IS - 8
ER -