Health Literacy, Medication Adherence, and Quality of Life in Patients With Uveitis

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To evaluate health literacy, medication adherence, and quality of life (QOL) in uveitis patients.

Methods

Cross-sectional quality improvement study using questionnaires of health literacy (Short Assessment of Health Literacy), adherence (Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire), and QOL (12-item Short Form Health Survey).

Results

Sixty patients were surveyed: 57% women, 80% identified as Black, and 42% with schooling beyond high school. Forty-three percent of the patients had poor health literacy, with lower scores among those with less schooling (p < .01). Necessity scores were higher for multiple providers (p = .02). Necessity (p = .03) and Concerns (p < .01) scores were higher for patients seeing a rheumatologist. Patients had lower physical (p < .01) and mental QOL (p < .01) than the general US population.

Conclusions

Uveitis patients reported many barriers to care. Despite strong perceptions of treatment necessity, there were significant concerns, especially among patients seeing a rheumatologist. We recommend multidisciplinary care, individualized education, and counseling regarding medication safety and the necessity to improve adherence.

KEYWORDS:

• Quality improvement
• health literacy
• quality of life
• medication adherence
• uveitis
• intraocular inflammation
• multidisciplinary care

Declaration of interest Disclosures

Claire M. Mueller: None.

Laura Ward: None.

Ghazala A. Datoo O’Keefe: Eyepoint pharmaceuticals, advisory board, July 2019, unrelated to current work.

Additional information

Funding

Research to Prevent Blindness core grant P30EY006360. The sponsor or funding organization had no role in the design or conduct of this research.