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Patients with foot, ankle complaints likely have limited musculoskeletal health literacy
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LONG BEACH, Calif. — Nearly one-third of patients who presented to an academic medical center with foot and ankle-related complaints lacked the necessary musculoskeletal heath literacy required to make informed decisions regarding their care, according to data presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Annual Meeting.
“Limited musculoskeletal literacy is a problem. In the general literature, it has been shown to be the most important factor in a patient’s health,” Jason Tartaglione, MD, said, here.
Jason Tartaglione
Tartaglione and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study to identify the prevalence and risk factors for musculoskeletal health literacy in 56 patients with foot and ankle-related complaints who were 18 years old and older. The patients presented with foot and ankle-related complaints to the emergency department of an academic medical center. They completed a demographic survey, as well as the validated Literacy in Musculoskeletal Problems (LiMP) questionnaire during a preoperative office visit. Chi-squared analysis was used to assess the relationship between demographics and the musculoskeletal competency.
Tartaglione said LiMP scores greater than or equal to 6 were indicative of adequate musculoskeletal health literacy. The patients’ mean LiMP score was 5± 2.06, he said.
The researchers found limited musculoskeletal health literacy in 32% of the patients studied. Male gender, current or previous employment in a health care field, and having previously seen a physician for a musculoskeletal complaint correlated with higher, but not statistically significantly different literacy. Caucasians and patients who attended college were significantly more likely to have adequate literacy, Tartaglione said.
“About a third of the patients that you treat may lack adequate health literacy. This will directly affect their ability to make informed, competent decisions. Education campaigns must target at-risk individuals. Further studies should be done, and as was shown in general health literacy, for musculoskeletal and foot and ankle heath care literacy, does this actually change outcomes. If it does, then this is something we must recognize and address,” he said. – by Kristine Houck, MA, ELS
Reference:
Tartaglione J. Musculoskeletal health literacy in patients presenting with foot and ankle complaints: A cross-sectional survey of comprehension. Presented at: American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Annual Meeting; July 15-18, 2015; Long Beach, Calif.
Disclosure: Tartaglione reports no relevant financial disclosures.