Health Literacy, Health Care Utilization, and Direct Cost of Care Among Linguistically Diverse Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Low functional health literacy (HL) has been associated with poor self-management of chronic conditions, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), an inefficient use of health services, and higher health care costs. Low functional HL and limited English language proficiency both independently predict poor glycemic control among Latino and Chinese immigrants in the United States, and is more common among patients with diabetes with limited HL.

Objective: This study investigated the relationship between low functional HL, health care utilization, and costs of health care among a cohort of low-income patients with T2DM whose primary language was English, Spanish, or Cantonese (N = 277).