title: Education level, not health literacy, associated with information needs for patients with cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cancer patients receiving adjuvant therapy encounter increasingly complex situations and decisions with each new procedure and therapy. To make informed decisions about care, they need to be able to access, process, and understand information. Individuals with limited health literacy may not be able to obtain or understand important information about their cancer and treatment. The rate of low health literacy has been shown to be higher among African Americans than among non-Hispanic Whites. This study examined the associations between race, health literacy, and self-reported needs for information about disease, diagnostic tests, treatments, physical care, and psychosocial resources.
  
  
  METHODS
  Measures assessing information needs were administered to 138 newly diagnosed cancer patients. Demographics were assessed by survey and health literacy was assessed with two commonly used measures: the Rapid Estimate Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) and the Short Test of Health Literacy in Adults (STOFHLA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Study findings indicate that educational attainment, rather than health literacy, is a significant predictor of information needs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overcoming barriers to information needs may be less dependent on literacy considerations and more dependent on issues that divide across levels of educational attainment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oncologists and hospital staff should be attentive to the fact that many patients require additional assistance to meet their information needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social & Behavioral Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA. Rmatsuyama@vcu.edu
authors.forename: Robin K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Matsuyama
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilson-Genderson
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: Drew
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moghanaki
authors.forename: Hetal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vachhani
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paasche-Orlow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D057220:Health Literacy; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult