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The relationship between literacy and multimorbidity in a primary care setting
Catherine Hudon1, Martin Fortin, Marie-Eve Poitras
1Département de médecine de famille, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. Catherine.Hudon@USherbrooke.ca
BMC Family Practice
|April 28, 2012
Summary
This study found no link between health literacy and multimorbidity in primary care patients when accounting for age and income. Further research is needed to understand these complex health factors.
Area of Science:
- Primary Care Research
- Health Outcomes
- Social Determinants of Health
Background:
- Multimorbidity is a growing concern in primary care, necessitating identification of risk factors.
- Understanding factors associated with multimorbidity is crucial for developing effective prevention and intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between health literacy and multimorbidity.
- To control for potential confounding variables in the relationship between literacy and multimorbidity.
Main Methods:
- Adult patients from a family medicine clinic in Saguenay, Quebec, were recruited.
- Health literacy was assessed using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS).
- Multimorbidity was measured via self-report using the Disease Burden Morbidity Assessment (DBMA), with age, sex, education, and family income as confounders.
Main Results:
- A significant association between literacy and multimorbidity was observed in bivariate analyses (p < 0.01).
- However, this association disappeared in multivariate analyses after controlling for age and family income.
- Nearly half of the participants (47%) exhibited low health literacy based on NVS scores.
Conclusions:
- The study suggests no significant relationship between health literacy and multimorbidity when age and family income are considered.
- These findings highlight the importance of accounting for socioeconomic factors when examining health literacy and disease burden.
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