The association of health literacy, social support, self-efficacy and interpersonal interactions with health care providers in low-income Latina mothers.

Objective: We explored relationships between maternal health literacy (HL), communicative self-efficacy (SE), social support (SS) and maternal perception of interactions with health care providers (HCPs).

Methods: Using a cross-sectional, correlational design, we assessed sociodemographic characteristics, maternal HL, social support, communicative self-efficacy, and interpersonal interactions with HCPs among 124 low-income Latina mothers of young children.

Results: Informal SS significantly predicted maternal SE in interactions. SE predicted maternal perception of a HCP's ability to "elicit and respond to her concerns."

Discussion: Interventions to improve maternal self-efficacy in interacting with HCPs among low health literate Latina mothers may positively impact pediatric health outcomes.