Health literacy and ophthalmology: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Public Health
• Health Literacy Research

Background:

• Over 1 billion people globally experience preventable or unaddressed vision impairment.
• Poor health literacy is a potential major factor in the high prevalence of eye diseases.
• Understanding health literacy's role in ophthalmology is critical for managing disease burden and improving patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• This scoping review is the first to examine health literacy's impact on eye health outcomes.
• The study assessed associations between health literacy and blindness, screening rates, treatment adherence, and self-care.
• The goal was to synthesize current evidence on health literacy in ophthalmology.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL databases.
• The search covered studies published up to November 12, 2021.
• The review analyzed the relationship between health literacy and ophthalmic outcomes in four key domains.

Main Results:

• Evidence indicates a significant association between health literacy and ophthalmic outcomes across all evaluated domains.
• Health literacy impacts clinical outcomes, treatment adherence, screening/follow-up rates, and self-care practices.
• The findings highlight a clear link between how well patients understand health information and their eye health.

Conclusions:

• Health literacy is demonstrably associated with various ophthalmic outcomes.
• Further longitudinal research using standardized measures is necessary to fully understand this relationship.
• Developing a specific ophthalmic health literacy survey could aid in targeted interventions to improve patient care and outcomes.