AI Article Synopsis
- Individuals with low literacy face significant challenges in accessing and utilizing health care services, particularly within psychiatric populations.
- A study at a shelter-based clinic for the homeless found that 76% of patients read at or below a seventh- to eighth-grade level, despite many self-reporting that they read "well."
- The findings highlight the importance of implementing formal literacy screenings in clinical settings to better support patients' health care needs.
Article Abstract
Research has shown that individuals with low or limited literacy experience significant obstacles in gaining access to and using health care services. In a study of the prevalence of low literacy in an indigent psychiatric population, 45 patients seeking mental health services at a shelter-based clinic for the homeless were given the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine screening test. Thirty-four participants (76 percent) read at or below the seventh- to eighth-grade level. Ten patients in this low-literacy group (29 percent) reported that they read "very well," 16 (47 percent) that they read "well," and eight (24 percent) that they read "not well." The results suggest the need for providers to consider formal screening for low literacy in clinical settings.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/ps.50.2.262 | DOI Listing |
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