Pediatric Asthma: Caregiver Health Literacy and the Clinician's Perception |
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| Authors: | Angelina R Wittich Joan Mangan Roni Grad Wenquan Wang Lynn B Gerald |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Health Professions, Department of Critical Care/Lung Health Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA;2. Lung Health Center, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA;3. Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA;4. Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA |
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| Abstract: | Health literacy was assessed in pediatric asthma caregivers attending a university-based clinic. The medical provider's perception of caregiver health literacy was also examined. Eighty-six percent of the caregivers had adequate health literacy, 4% and 10% had marginal and inadequate health literacy, respectively. Health literacy was significantly higher for caregivers who were younger (p = 0.039) and had a higher level of education (p = 0.037). An agreement analysis revealed moderate agreement between provider perception of caregiver's health literacy and measured health literacy (Kappa = 0.51). The results suggest that medical providers may not accurately assess caregivers' actual health literacy level. |
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| Keywords: | literacy caregiver pediatric asthma minority |
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