Advances in Diabetes and Metabolism(CEASE PUBLICATION) Vol. 2(1), pp. 10 - 19
DOI: 10.13189/adm.2014.020103
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The Impact of Health Literacy on Clinical Outcomes for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Terris R. Moss ^*
Rutgers University School of Health Related Professions George Washington University Health Sciences

ABSTRACT

Health literacy is a measure of patient’s ability to read, comprehend, and act on medical instructions. Health care literacy entails being able to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Limited health literacy is associated with poor self-management of Type 2 Diabetes [1]. Limited health literacy is common among vulnerable populations including racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, elderly persons, and patients with chronic conditions. Health literacy is a stronger predictor of a person's health than age, income, employment status, education level, and race [18].The objectives of this research his to examine current studies for the impact of health literacy on clinical outcomes for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes. Self-monitoring of blood glucose is a clinical outcome determined to be a vital component of self-management therapy for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. From the literature search four homogeneous articles that have confirmed an association between health literacy and glycemic control were selected for a Meta-Analysis to determine the strength of this correlation. The research will highlight vulnerable populations of at risk for low healthcare literacy which may present barriers for effective Diabetes self-management and offer strategies for reducing those barriers. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to test the strength of previously publish correlations of homogenous studies using TOFLHA as the literacy measurement tool. As the focus on health literacy research does not neatly fall within a health literacy framework as several measures for health literacy measure a combination of print and numeracy skills. Some studies measure literacy as numeracy or oral literacy. The meta analysis is of studies using TOFHLA which is recognized as the tool for health literacy measurement

KEYWORDS
Diabetes, Health Literacy, Glycemic Control, Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose, TOFLHA

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Terris R. Moss , "The Impact of Health Literacy on Clinical Outcomes for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus," Advances in Diabetes and Metabolism(CEASE PUBLICATION), Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 10 - 19, 2014. DOI: 10.13189/adm.2014.020103.

(b). APA Format:
Terris R. Moss (2014). The Impact of Health Literacy on Clinical Outcomes for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Advances in Diabetes and Metabolism(CEASE PUBLICATION), 2(1), 10 - 19. DOI: 10.13189/adm.2014.020103.