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Health literacy and pregnancy preparedness in pregestational diabetes
Loraine K Endres1, Lisa K Sharp, Elaine Haney
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA. lendres@uic.edu
Objective:
We investigated the association between functional health literacy and markers of pregnancy preparedness in women with pregestational diabetes.
Research Design And Methods:
English- and Spanish-speaking pregnant women with pregestational diabetes were recruited. Women completed the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) short form and a questionnaire. A TOFHLA score of < or =30 was defined as low functional health literacy.
Results:
Of 74 women participating in the study, 16 (22%) were classified as having low functional health literacy. Compared with women with adequate health literacy, those with low health literacy were significantly more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy (P = 0.02) and significantly less likely to have either discussed pregnancy ahead of time with an endocrinologist or obstetrician (P = 0.01) or taken folic acid (P = 0.001).
Conclusions:
The results of this study suggest that low functional health literacy among women with pregestational diabetes is associated with several factors that may adversely impact birth outcomes.
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