Patient involvement in the health care process has been documented as a critical component of successful disease management. However, inadequate functional health literacy among patients is a well-known barrier to effective doctor-patient communication, which has an adverse effect on health outcomes. This study aimed at investigating the association of functional health literacy and doctor-patient communication among HIV/AIDS patients in Homa Bay County, Kenya. It was a cross-sectional hospital-based survey conducted among 362 HIV/AIDS patients receiving care at the eight sub-county hospitals of Homa Bay county. Data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis tests were used to ascertain the reliability and validity of study instruments, while Logistic regression logistic analysis was used to measure the association between functional health literacy and doctor-patient communication. 51% of the respondents were females, and the majority (30.9%) of respondents fell in the age group of 45 years and above. The respondents’ functional health literacy levels were inadequate at weighted means scores of 3.23 [SD 1.31]. The study further established that functional health literacy significantly influenced doctor-patient communication [Nagelkerke R square = 0.318]. There is, therefore, a need to document the determinants of functional health literacy to improve it and make doctor-patient interaction an enjoyable and meaningful experience.
References
[1]
Horning, A. (2019) Developing Information Literacy through Critical Reading and Writing. In: Lamb, M.R. and Parrott, J., Eds., Digital Reading and Writing in Composition Studies, Routledge, New York, 41-56. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351052948-3
[2]
Rademakers, J. and Heijmans, M. (2018) Beyond Reading and Understanding: Health Literacy as the Capacity to Act. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 1676. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081676
[3]
Paasche-Orlow, M.K. and Wolf, M.S. (2016) The Causal Pathways Linking Health Literacy to Health Outcomes. American Journal of Health Behavior, 31, 19-26. https://doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.31.s1.4
[4]
Disler, R., Glenister, K. and Wright, J. (2020) Rural Chronic Disease Research Patterns in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand: A Systematic Integrative Review. BMC Public Health, 20, Article No. 770. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08912-1
[5]
Bradley, C. (2013) Information Literacy in the Programmatic University Accreditation Standards of Select Professions in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Journal of Information Literacy, 7, 44-68. https://doi.org/10.11645/7.1.1785
[6]
Ishikawa, H., Takeuchi, T. and Yano, E. (2008) Health Literacy Scales. PsycTESTS Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/t17922-000
[7]
Nutbeam, D. (2015) Defining, Measuring and Improving Health Literacy, (August).
[8]
Liu, H., Zeng, H., Shen, Y., Zhang, F., Sharma, M., Lai, W., Zhao, Y., et al. (2018) Assessment Tools for Health Literacy among the General Population: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 1711. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15081711
[9]
Mehzabin, R., Hossain, K.J., Moniruzzaman, M. and Sayeed, S.K.J.B. (2019) Association of Functional Health Literacy with Glycemic Control: A Cross-Sectional Study in Urban Population of Bangladesh. Journal of Medicine, 20, 19-24. https://doi.org/10.3329/jom.v20i1.38816
[10]
Lai, A.Y., Ishikawa, H., Kiuchi, T., Mooppil, N. and Griva, K. (2013) Communicative and Critical Health Literacy, and Self-Management Behaviors in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients with Diabetes on Hemodialysis. Patient Education and Counseling, 91, 221-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2012.12.018
[11]
An, S. and Muturi, N. (2011) Subjective Health Literacy and Older Adults’ Assessment of Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Ads. Journal of Health Communication, 16, 242-255. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2011.604387
[12]
Ngetich, A. (2018) Community Acceptability of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) as a Strategy in the Fight against the Spread of HIV and AIDS among Residents of Homa-Bay County Kenya. Texila International Journal of Public Health, 6, 16-24. https://doi.org/10.21522/tijph.2013.06.03.art002
[13]
Kimanga, D.O., Ogola, S., Umuro, M., Ng'ang'a, A., Kimondo, L., Murithi, P., Muttunga, J., Waruiru, W., Mohammed, I., Sharrif, S., De Cock, K.M. and Kim, A.A. (2014) Prevalence and Incidence of HIV Infection, Trends, and Risk Factors among Persons Aged 15-64 Years in Kenya. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 66, S13-S26. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAI.0000000000000124
[14]
Fagbamigbe, A.F., Adebayo, S.B. and Idemudia, E. (2016) Marital Status and HIV Prevalence among Women in Nigeria: Ingredients for Evidence-Based Programming. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 48, 57-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2016.05.002
[15]
Geboers, B. (2017) Understanding the Role of Health Literacy in Self-Management and Health Behaviors among Older Adults.
[16]
Griffey, R.T., McNaughton, C.D., McCarthy, D.M., Shelton, E., Castaneda-Guarderas, A., Young-Brinn, A., Grudszen, C., et al. (2016) Shared Decision Making in the Emergency Department among Patients with Limited Health Literacy: Beyond Slower and Louder. Academic Emergency Medicine, 23, 1403-1409. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.13104
[17]
Gokengin, D., Calik, S. and Oktem, P. (2017) Analysis of HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination in Turkey: Results of the People Living with HIV Stigma Index. Klimik Dergisi/Klimik Journal, 30, 15-21. https://doi.org/10.5152/kd.2017.03
[18]
Ibrahim, K., Kombong, R. and Sriati, A. (2019) The Difference of Perceived HIV Stigma between People Living with HIV Infection and Their Families. Nurse Media Journal of Nursing, 9, 117-127. https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v9i2.24256
[19]
Burch, J. and Jackson, C. (2019) How Do Point-of-Care Diagnostic Tests for Acute Respiratory Infection Affect Antibiotic Prescribing Behavior in Primary Care? Cochrane Clinical Answers. https://doi.org/10.1002/cca.2434
[20]
Muscat, D.M., Morony, S., Shepherd, H.L., Smith, S.K., Dhillon, H.M., Trevena, L., Hayen, A., Luxford, K., Nutbeam, D. and McCaffery, K. (2015) Development and Field Testing of a Consumer Shared Decision-Making Training Program for Adults with Low Literacy. Patient Education and Counseling, 98, 1180-1188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2015.07.023
[21]
Tolan, N.V. (2020) Health Literacy and the Desire to Manage One’s Own Health. Clinics in Laboratory Medicine, 40, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cll.2019.11.007
[22]
Brabers, A.E., Rademakers, J.J., Groenewegen, P.P., Van Dijk, L. and De Jong, J.D. (2017) What Role Does Health Literacy Play in Patients’ Involvement in Medical Decision-Making? PLoS ONE, 12, e0173316. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173316
