title: Health literacy, computer skills and quality of patient-physician communication in Chinese patients with cataract.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to assess levels of health literacy and computer skills in Chinese patients with cataract, and their impact on the doctor-patient relationship.
  
  
  METHODS
  We undertook a cross-sectional study of cataract patients scheduled for cataract extraction procedures in Guangdong Province, China. Generic health literacy was assessed using 3 established screening questions. Adequate computer skills was determined if patients had used a computer and routinely used search engines on the Internet. Socio-demographic measures (e.g., age, sex, education) were obtained from a standardized interview. Participants who indicated that they could not understand what their doctors mean were considered to have had poor patient-physician communications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 211 participants, 92 (43.6%) had inadequate health literacy and 204 (96.7%) inadequate computer skills. In multivariate analysis, females were more likely to have inadequate health literacy (odds ratio = 2.5, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.3 to 4.7). People with inadequately health literacy were more likely to have a poor patient-physician communication (odds ratio = 3.5, 95% CIs: 1.3 to 9.0). Similar associations were found for inadequate computer skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Chinese elderly patients with cataract have inadequate health literacy and very limited computer skills, which place them at high risk of misunderstanding and mismanaging their ocular conditions. Patient education information other than online materials may improve the eye care and outcomes of these patients.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xianchai
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yajing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Mingge
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Shantou Central Hospital, Shantou, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Siping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yongxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Minbin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore; Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore, Singapore; Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Ecosse L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Lamoureux
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002386:Cataract; D002681:China; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult