Communicative and critical health literacy, and self-management behaviors in end-stage renal disease patients with diabetes on hemodialysis.
OBJECTIVE
Health literacy (HL) has been linked to disease self-management and various health outcomes, and can be separated into components of functional, communicative and critical skills. The high comorbidity between diabetes and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) poses concerns for compromised disease self-management. This study aimed to identify the relationships between HL and self-management behaviors in end-stage renal disease patients with diabetes.


METHODS
Self-report questionnaires measuring HL and self-management with the functional, communicative and critical HL scale and Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities, respectively, were implemented with a sample of 63 patients. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained from medical records.


RESULTS
Self-management in diabetes was associated with communicative and critical HL, but not functional HL. Educational attainment was associated only with functional HL. No relationship between HL and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was identified.


CONCLUSIONS
Communicative and critical HL skills are associated with self-management in ESRD patients with diabetes. Education levels are not related to self-management.


CONCLUSIONS
Healthcare professionals and health information aiming to improve self-management in ESRD patients with diabetes should consider their capacities of communicative and critical HL instead of solely assessing functional HL.
Department of Health Communication, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Alden Yuanhong
AY
Lai
Hirono
H
Ishikawa
Takahiro
T
Kiuchi
Nandakumar
N
Mooppil
Konstadina
K
Griva
D003142:Communication; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012648:Self Care