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Health Literacy among Parents of Pediatric Patients

T Paul Tran1, Laura M Robinson, John R Keebler

  • 1University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
|June 30, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Most parents (89.5%) have adequate health literacy when accompanying children in the emergency department (ED). This finding suggests healthcare providers may need to adapt communication strategies for pediatric patient guardians in the ED.

Area of Science:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Health Literacy Research
  • Pediatric Healthcare

Background:

  • Health literacy significantly impacts healthcare outcomes.
  • Limited research exists on health literacy within emergency medicine.
  • Understanding patient health literacy is crucial for effective care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of health literacy among parents/guardians of pediatric patients in an emergency department (ED).
  • To establish a baseline understanding of health literacy in this specific patient population.

Main Methods:

  • Observational study at a Level 1 trauma center ED.
  • Convenience sampling of English-speaking parents/guardians of pediatric patients (<19 years).
  • Utilized the short version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy for Adults (s-TOFHLA).

Main Results:

  • 181 parents/guardians completed the study.
  • 10.5% demonstrated "marginal" or "inadequate" health literacy.
  • 89.5% (95% CI: 84.1%, 93.6%) possessed "adequate" health literacy.

Conclusions:

  • A significant majority of parents/guardians have adequate health literacy.
  • Findings may encourage emergency department professionals to modify communication approaches for pediatric evaluations.
  • Further multi-center research is recommended to validate these pilot study results.
Abstract

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