Factors Associated With Health Literacy and Medication Adherence in an Urban Community

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study is to determine factors associated with health literacy and medication adherence in an urban community. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess factors associated with health literacy and medication adherence. Participants were recruited from October 2012 to April 2013. SETTING: Ambulatory care clinic and senior wellness center. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were eligible if they were older than 18 years of age and had received care at the ambulatory clinic or obtained services at the senior wellness center. INTERVENTIONS: REALM survey and the Morisky 8-Item Medication Adherence Questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The two outcomes evaluated in this study were health literacy and medication adherence. RESULTS: A total of 51 participants were enrolled in the study. Twenty-seven (53%) of the participants were noted to be nonadherent to their medications. Twenty (74%) of these participants read below the high school level, and the remaining 7 (26%) read above a high school level. Study findings showed that both education level and comorbidities status were associated with health literacy. Participants who had a below high school education level had greater odds of having a below high school health literacy level (odds ratio [OR] = 7.500, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.482-37.949). Participants who had two or more comorbidities had greater odds of having a below high school health literacy level (OR = 24.889, 95% CI 2.698-229.610). CONCLUSION: Our study results found associations between both comorbidities and education with health literacy.