Does Patient Health Literacy Affect Patient Reported Outcome Measure Completion Method in Orthopaedic Patients?

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient-Reported Outcomes
• Health Literacy Studies

Background:

• PROMIS® Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) tracks patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) to improve health outcomes.
• Patient health literacy (HL) may influence their ability to complete PROM surveys.
• Understanding factors affecting PROM completion is crucial for accurate health data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between health literacy and the completion of PROMIS® CAT surveys.
• To determine if health literacy affects the method of PROM completion (online portal vs. in-clinic).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 3926 orthopaedic patients.
• Log-binomial regressions analyzed completion rates and methods based on health literacy, demographics, and socioeconomic factors.
• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) completion data was collected.

Main Results:

• 55.2% of patients completed PROM surveys; 26% of completers used the online patient portal (OPP).
• Low HL patients had a 23% higher non-completion rate and were 63% less likely to use OPP.
• Black patients had a 25% higher non-completion rate and were 49% less likely to use OPP compared to White patients.

Conclusions:

• Health literacy, demographics, and socioeconomic status significantly influence PROM completion rates and methods.
• Interventions are needed to support diverse and disadvantaged patient populations in completing PROM surveys accurately.
• Facilitating complete and accurate PROM responses is essential for improving patient outcomes.