Impact of health literacy on socioeconomic and racial differences in health in an elderly population.
BACKGROUND
Differences in health literacy levels by race and education are widely hypothesized to contribute to health disparities, but there is little direct evidence.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the extent to which low health literacy exacerbates differences between racial and socioeconomic groups in terms of health status and receipt of vaccinations.


METHODS
Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS (OR PATIENTS OR SUBJECTS): Three thousand two hundred and sixty noninstitutionalized elderly persons enrolling in a Medicare managed care plan in 1997 in Cleveland, OH; Houston, TX; South Florida; and Tampa, FL.


METHODS
Dependent variables were physical health SF-12 score, mental health SF-12 score, self-reported health status, receipt of influenza vaccine, and receipt of pneumococcal vaccine. Independent variables included health literacy, educational attainment, race, income, age, sex, chronic health conditions, and smoking status.


RESULTS
After adjusting for demographic and health-related variables, individuals without a high school education had worse physical and mental health and worse self-reported health status than those with a high school degree. Accounting for health literacy reduced these differences by 22% to 41%. Black individuals had worse self-reported health status and lower influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates. Accounting for health literacy reduced the observed difference in self-reported health by 25% but did not affect differences in vaccination rates.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that health literacy explained a small to moderate fraction of the differences in health status and, to a lesser degree, receipt of vaccinations that would normally be attributed to educational attainment and/or race if literacy was not considered.
Howard
David H
DH
Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. david.howard@emory.edu
Sentell
Tetine
T
Gazmararian
Julie A
JA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D044465:White People