Health literacy of patients hospitalized for digestive surgeries.
Stéfani Rodrigues Venturini, Etiane de Oliveira Freitas, Silviamar Camponogara and 4 others
PMID 41838859WHAT IT FOUND
Hospitalized digestive surgery patients reported more difficulty getting information for self-care and finding good health information than feeling supported or engaging with providers.
Low education was linked to worse scores, suggesting nurses may need to check understanding.
Key findings
01Patients' mean health literacy scores showed limitations in having sufficient information to manage health (2.73) and finding good health information (3.39).
02After adjustment, participants with lower education had lower scores for feeling understood and supported by healthcare providers: illiterate (coeffb = -0.87), elementary school (coeffb = -0.49), and high school (coeffb = -0.28).
03Postoperative patients reported lower capacity for active interaction with healthcare professionals.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The cross-sectional design cannot show cause and effect. The convenience sample came from a single public teaching hospital, so the results may not represent other surgical patients. The questionnaire has no established cut-off for inadequate health literacy, so these scores cannot classify patients by a standard threshold. Patients with communication limitations, excessive sleepiness, or significant emotional instability were excluded, so the study may miss patients who need support most. Visual aids used to explain response options may have influenced answers. Some data were self-reported, and unmeasured factors may explain the associations.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that assessing health literacy or using teach-back improves surgical outcomes. The study measured patients' self-reported health literacy and did not test any intervention.