Health literacy: impact on the health of HIV-infected individuals.
Health literacy is known to affect vulnerable communities such as persons living with HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this review was to provide a current summary of research on the impact of health literacy on the health of persons living with HIV/AIDS and to address future areas of need. Contemporary studies focused on expanding the reach of health literacy in HIV/AIDS to retention in HIV care, use of technology for assessing and intervening to improve health literacy, and health literacy across the globe, for example. A number of studies did not find health literacy to explain health behaviors whereas other studies supported such a relationship. Future issues relevant to health literacy in HIV/AIDS include the aging of the HIV population and associated comorbidities, studies to understand the role of health literacy in specific populations affected by HIV/AIDS, and the continued need to refine the definition and measurement of health literacy.
School of Nursing & Health Studies, University of Miami, 5030 Brunson Drive, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA, awawrzyniak@med.miami.edu.
Andrew J
AJ
Wawrzyniak
Raymond L
RL
Ownby
Katryna
K
McCoy
Drenna
D
Waldrop-Valverde
D001294:Attitude to Health; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012944:Social Support