The Impact of Cultural Differences on Health Literacy & Chronic Disease Outcomes
Project Number5R01CA128455-02
Former Number1R01HS016353-01
Contact PI/Project LeaderSHAW, SUSAN J
Awardee OrganizationUNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Description
Abstract Text
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Health literacy, defined as the ability to understand or act on medical/therapeutic instructions, is increasingly recognized as an important factor in patient compliance and chronic disease outcomes. Health care providers are beginning to assess patient education and other materials from the perspective of readability and patient literacy. Less work has been done, however, to place health literacy in the broader context of socioeconomic and cultural differences among patients and between providers and patients that hinder communication and compliance. The proposed project aims to broaden our understanding of health literacy by identifying and accounting for the cultural factors that shape health literacy in low-income, ethnic minority and immigrant populations. To better understand the cultural influences on low health literacy and the effects of health literacy on health, the proposed project combines qualitative and quantitative methods to meet the following specific aims:
1. To assess variation in health literacy among native and non-native English speakers;
2. To identify factors associated with health literacy, including a) language spoken at home, b) recency of immigration, c) sources of health information, and d) other cultural beliefs and practices;
3. To use a prospective multimethod research design to explore the impact of health literacy on chronic
disease outcomes (e.g., asthma, diabetes, and hypertension), including: a. the association between health literacy and patient compliance with therapeutic regimens, and b. the role of health literacy in patient-provider communication;
4. To identify effective ways to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods to further
knowledge of health literacy; and
5. To develop recommendations for primary health care providers on chronic disease management for
ethnically diverse patients with low health literacy.
To achieve these aims, we propose to conduct epidemiological surveys with a targeted sample of 500
patients from 5 ethnic groups (100 per group) recruited from Caring Health Center, a Section 330 health center in western Massachusetts. Chart abstracts will collect chronic disease outcomes at baseline and two 12-month follow-ups. Focus groups, ethnographic interviews, chronic disease diaries and home observations with a subsample of patients will provide greater contextualization and detail, aiding in survey development and the interpretation of survey findings.
No Sub Projects information available for 5R01CA128455-02
Publications
Publications are associated with projects, but cannot be identified with any particular year of the project or fiscal year of funding. This is due to the continuous and cumulative nature of knowledge generation across the life of a project and the sometimes long and variable publishing timeline. Similarly, for multi-component projects, publications are associated with the parent core project and not with individual sub-projects.
No Publications available for 5R01CA128455-02
Patents
No Patents information available for 5R01CA128455-02
Outcomes
The Project Outcomes shown here are displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institutes of Health. NIH has not endorsed the content below.
No Outcomes available for 5R01CA128455-02
Clinical Studies
No Clinical Studies information available for 5R01CA128455-02
News and More
Related News Releases
No news release information available for 5R01CA128455-02
History
No Historical information available for 5R01CA128455-02
Similar Projects
No Similar Projects information available for 5R01CA128455-02