Are We Missing the Mark? Understanding Health Literacy in A Rural-Border Hospital.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Health Literacy
• Patient Education

Background:

• Low health literacy (LHL) hinders patient engagement in healthcare.
• Registered nurses (RNs) are vital in identifying and addressing LHL.
• Accurate assessment of patient health literacy is crucial for effective care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between RNs' predictions of patient health literacy and actual patient health literacy levels (HLL).
• To analyze demographic factors influencing RN predictions and patient HLL.
• To identify disparities in perceived versus actual HLL in a Hispanic patient population.

Main Methods:

• Correlational study involving 84 patient-nurse dyads on a medical-surgical unit.
• RNs predicted patient HLL; actual HLL was measured using the Newest Vital Sign tool.
• Data analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-square, Spearman correlation, and logistic regression.

Main Results:

• RNs consistently overestimated patients' HLL (Predicted Mean=4.26 vs. Actual Mean=1.71).
• A moderately strong positive correlation (r=0.418) existed between predicted and actual HLL.
• Only the patient's highest level of education was a significant predictor of adequate HLL; RN experience/education did not improve prediction accuracy.

Conclusions:

• RNs require enhanced training in health literacy assessment to accurately identify LHL.
• Integrating standardized health literacy tools into clinical practice is essential.
• Improving LHL detection can lead to better patient support and outcomes.