title: Patient and physician factors predict patients' comprehension of health information.
abstract: While patients frequently do not comprehend health information, little is known about patient and physician factors that influence lack of comprehension. To assess effectiveness of health information exchange, 19 physicians and 145 patients were given post-encounter questionnaires to evaluate the preceding visit. We analyzed differences in beliefs between patients who comprehended health information and patients who did not, and whether physicians' attitudes and self-assessment of their educational abilities influenced this comprehension. Patients with insufficient comprehension were more likely to have schooling below college and cited language as a barrier. Physicians who believed health information delivery to be important had fewer patients with comprehension difficulties, while physicians who assessed themselves as very effective educators had significantly more patients with lack of comprehension, compared with physicians who did not feel as effective. Patients' comprehension of health information was associated not only with patient factors but also with physicians' attitude and self-assessment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Room 1306, Belfer Building, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. lukosche@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lukoschek
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fazzari
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marantz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003144:Communication Barriers; D032882:Comprehension; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009519:New York City; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires