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The Association between Health Literacy and Mortality in Heart Failure Patients

Kuhn, Tyler A
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent157123026478637

Abstract Details

2019, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
Over 6 million Americans over the age of 20 are currently diagnosed with heart failure, which imposes burdens for those diagnosed who must manage self-care regimens (Benjamin et al., 2017, Volpe, Chin, & Paneni, 2010). The Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) has recommended the consideration of health literacy in heart failure management and encourages tailoring heart failure intervention strategies around health literacy (Evangelista et al., 2010). Besides the general negative impact of low health literacy on heart failure management, an association between low health literacy and increased mortality in heart failure has been reported (Fabbri et al., 2018; McNaughton et al., 2015; Moser et al., 2015; Peterson et al., 2011). The current study aimed to examine the association between tested health literacy and mortality in heart failure patients using two tests of health literacy and to examine the role of cognitive functioning in the relation between health literacy and mortality in heart failure patients. It was hypothesized that health literacy scores would predict all-cause mortality in those with heart failure and that controlling for cognitive functioning would attenuate the relationship between health literacy and mortality in heart failure. Study participants were 372 patients with systolic heart failure recruited from two separate hospital systems in Northeast Ohio. Health literacy was tested using the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine [REALM] (Davis et al., 1993) and the Medical Term Recognition Test [METER] (Rawson et al., 2010). Cognitive functioning was tested using the Modified Mini-Mental State [3MS] (Teng & Chui, 1987). Both cardiovascular and all-cause mortality data were obtained through December 2014, providing a median 2.9-year follow-up on death records. Multiple cox proportional hazards regressions were used to analyze whether the METER, REALM, and the 3MS predicted mortality in those with heart failure. Neither METER nor REALM scores predicted mortality in heart failure. However, including cognitive functioning did improve the total model fit and decreased the individual effect of age on mortality. The results of the current study indicate the need for further research on the boundary conditions of the association between health literacy and mortality in those with heart failure and may suggest the need to evaluate strategies, such as patient education or cognitive functioning training, that are tailored to overcome deficits in health literacy.
Joel Hughes (Committee Chair)
John Gunstad (Committee Member)
Jennifer Taber (Committee Member)
John Updegraff (Committee Member)
27 p.
Psychology
heath literacy, heart failure, mortality

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kuhn, T. A. (2019). The Association between Health Literacy and Mortality in Heart Failure Patients [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent157123026478637

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kuhn, Tyler. The Association between Health Literacy and Mortality in Heart Failure Patients. 2019. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent157123026478637.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kuhn, Tyler. "The Association between Health Literacy and Mortality in Heart Failure Patients." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent157123026478637

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent157123026478637
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© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.
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