Levels of health literacy and English comprehension in patients presenting to South African primary healthcare facilities

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
Zelda Janse van Rensburg

Abstract

Health literacy is a relatively new concept in the South African primary healthcare (PHC) sector as well as globally, and limited new literature is available on the topic. In this study, we focused on investigating, describing and comparing health literacy scores calculated using three different tools to assess a patient's level of English comprehension. Health literacy is defined as the degree to which patients have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions. South Africa is a linguistically and culturally diverse country, yet English is often used as the main language for imparting health education in PHC facilities. Patients often do not comprehend the health education received. Primary healthcare workers need to determine the health literacy levels of their patients before imparting health education. The REALM-R (SA 1, 2 and 3) tools are adapted from the original REALM-R to test health literacy levels of South African PHC patients. The Learning Ability Battery (LAB) is a tool used to determine English comprehension levels. The aim of this was to investigate, describe and compare health literacy and English comprehension levels of PHC patients usi...Continue Reading

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Citations

May 11, 2021·African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine·Jeanne HeynsAngeni Bheekie

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