Health literacy of patients eligible for cochlear implants

Hearing loss is known to be an independent risk factor for inadequate health literacy. The objective of this study was to assess the level of health literacy among patients undergoing cochlear implantation to determine areas for improvement in delivery of patient information.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the otology-neurotology clinic at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Patients eligible for cochlear implantation completed two health literacy screening tools: The Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) and Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS).

Thirty seven patients were included (41% female, 59% male, mean age: 55 years). Most patients had adequate health literacy through BHLS (76%) and S-TOFHLA (98%) scoring. Over 80% of patients were not able to correctly recount all the operative risks associated with cochlear implant surgery and one third of patients did not correctly recount any risks associated with a cochlear implant surgery. Female sex was associated with higher scores (p=0.03) and low income (<$35,000) was associated with lower scores (p=0.05).

Patients eligible for cochlear implants have adequate health literacy, but most are not able to recount operative risks. Educational tools are required to improve patient retention, understand, and perioperative health information delivery.