Limited Health Literacy and Hearing Loss Among Older Adults.

Background: Effective communications between health care providers and patients are critical for high-quality health care.

Objective: This study sampled adults age 65 years and older to explore (1) characteristics associated with limited health literacy (LHL) and (2) medical costs and gaps in care based on health literacy, hearing loss, and hearing aid use status.

Methods: The study included 19,223 adults age 65 years and older who completed a health survey that was linked to his or her medical claims that were generated after medical care provided in the year prior to survey completion.

Self-Reported Hearing Loss in Older Adults Is Associated With Higher Emergency Department Visits and Medical Costs.

Hearing loss is common among older adults. Thus, it was of interest to explore differences in health care utilization and costs associated with hearing loss and hearing aid use. Hearing loss and hearing aid use were assessed through self-reports and included 5 categories: no hearing loss, aided mild, unaided mild, aided severe, and unaided severe hearing loss.

Characteristics and Health Outcomes Associated With Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use Among Older Adults.

This study recruited older adults to explore physical and psychosocial conditions and other health outcomes associated with hearing loss (HL) and hearing aid use. Survey data were used to categorize 20,244 participants into five groups: no HL, unaided mild HL, aided mild HL, unaided severe HL, and aided severe HL. Individuals with unaided severe HL were more likely to report poor-fair self-rated health and were less likely to leave the home, or exercise 4 to 7 days per week, while there were no such associations for those with aided mild or severe HL.

Older Adult Preferences of Mobile Application Functionality Supporting Medication Self-Management.

Health systems and insurers alike are increasingly interested in leveraging mHealth (mobile health) tools to support patient health-related behaviors including medication adherence. However, these tools are not widely used by older patients. This study explores patient preferences for functionality in a smartphone application (app) that supports medication self-management among older adults with multiple chronic conditions.

The Role of Patient Activation in Preferences for Shared Decision Making: Results From a National Survey of U.S. Adults.

Studies investigating preferences for shared decision making (SDM) have focused on associations with sociodemographic variables, with few investigations exploring patient factors. We aimed to investigate the relationship between patient activation and preferences for SDM in 6 common medical decisions among a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of American adults. Adults older than 18 were recruited online (n = 2,700) and by telephone (n = 700).

The association between patient activation and accessing online health information: results from a national survey of US adults.

Background: There are increasing opportunities for the public to access online health information, but attitudinal barriers to use are less well-known. Patient activation is associated with key health outcomes, but its relationship with using online health information is not known.

Objective: We examined the relationship between patient activation and the likelihood of accessing a range of different types of online health information in a nationally representative US sample.

The role of the neurologist in cases of abuse and neglect.

Objective: The objective of this article is to define abuse and neglect and underscore the importance of their assessment in the practice of neurology.

Review Study: This review outlines the medical and psychologic consequences of abuse and neglect and their impact on individuals and family units. It highlights specific neurologic repercussions of abuse and neglect and provides clinical scenarios that a neurologist may encounter.