Abilities,skills and knowledge in measures of health literacy

Objective

Health literacy has been recognized as an important factor in patients’ health status and outcomes, but the relative contribution of demographic variables, cognitive abilities, academic skills, and health knowledge to performance on tests of health literacy has not been as extensively explored. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model of health literacy as a composite of cognitive abilities, academic skills, and health knowledge (ASK model) and test its relation to measures of health literacy in a model that first takes demographic variables into account.

Methods

A battery of cognitive, academic achievement, health knowledge and health literacy measures was administered to 359 Spanish- and English-speaking community-dwelling volunteers. The relations of health literacy tests to the model were evaluated using regression models.

Results

Each health literacy test was related to elements of the model but variability existed across measures.

Conclusion

Analyses partially support the ASK model defining health literacy as a composite of abilities, skills, and knowledge, although the relations of commonly used health literacy measures to each element of the model varied widely.

Practice implications

Results suggest that clinicians and researchers should be aware of the abilities and skills assessed by health literacy measures when choosing a measure.     

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a tool for the discrimination of high-risk Escherichia coli clones from phylogenetic groups B2 (ST131) and D (ST69, ST405, ST393)

Reliable, quick and low-cost methods are needed for the early detection of multidrug-resistant and highly virulent high-risk B2 and D Escherichia coli clones or clonal complexes (HiRCC). Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) seems to have a good discriminatory potential at different subspecies levels, but it was never evaluated for the discrimination of E. coli clones. We assessed the potential of MALDI-TOF MS coupled to multivariate data analysis to discriminate representative E. coli B2 and D HiRCC. Seventy-three E. coli isolates from B2 (including ST131 and B2 non-ST131 clones) and D (ST69, ST393, ST405) with variable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns, origins and dates (1980–2010) were tested. MS spectra were acquired from independent extracts obtained from different plate cultures in two different Microflex LT MALDI-TOF devices (Bruker) after a standard extraction procedure. MALDI-TOF MS fingerprinting analysis revealed a good discriminatory ability between the four HiRCC analysed (ST131, ST69, ST405, ST393) and between B2 ST131 and other B2 non-ST131 isolates. Clusters defined by MALDI-TOF MS were consistent with the clonal complexes assigned by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), although differences were detected regarding the composition of clusters obtained by the comparison of PFGE profiles. We demonstrate, for the first time, that characteristic mass fingerprints of different E. coli HiRCC are sufficiently discriminatory and robust to enable their differentiation by MALDI-TOF MS, which might represent a promising tool for the optimisation of infection control, individual patient management and large-scale epidemiological studies of public health relevance. The good correlation between phenotypic and genotypic features further corroborates phylogenetic relationships delineated by MLST.     

Validación externa de las recomendaciones del Consenso multidisciplinar sobre Terapia Inhalada

The understanding of physicians and the skill of patients in the use of inhalers continues to be inadequate.     

Prognosis in Women with Breast Cancer and Private Extra Insurance Coverage

Background

Many women covered by the Spanish public health system also have an extra private insurance policy for gynecological examinations and routine annual mammography. We retrospectively analyzed the long-term survival rates in these patients when diagnosed with breast cancer.

Methods

We analyzed the survival and prognostic factors in patients diagnosed with breast cancer who were referred to a medical oncology unit for multidisciplinary treatment covered by private health insurance.

Results

Between 1994 and 2009, a total of 434 patients with breast tumor were analyzed: 33 in situ and 401 infiltrating. Among the infiltrating carcinomas, 38 were stage IV and 363 were stage I, II, or III. With a median follow-up of 62 months, the 5-year global survival rate was 91 %: 97 % for stage I, 94 % for stage II, and 77 % for stage III tumors. In the patients diagnosed by routine mammography, the 5-year survival rate was 96 %, compared with 86 % in those consulting their gynecologist after breast self-examination or for other symptoms (p = 0.0159). Seventy-four percent were treated conservatively and experienced better survival than the 26 % who underwent mastectomy (p = 0.0024). Patients with disease with positive hormone receptors had a better survival rate (p = 0.0264); hormone receptor status was the only independent prognostic factor in the Cox multivariate analysis. Postmenopausal patients who received adjuvant tamoxifen plus exemestane had a better prognosis than those who received tamoxifen alone (p = 0.0203).

Conclusions

Long-term survival rate was high in breast cancer patients with extra private insurance coverage. This is probably because disease was diagnosed at an early stage.