Health Literacy and Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Underserved Inpatients in a Safety Net Hospital

Figures & data

Table 1. Percentage of participants, by health literacy score (REALM) according to various demographic and lifestyle variables

Characteristics	Low health literacy n (%) (n = 222)	Higher health literacy n (%) (n = 359)	Chi-square test (p)
Age (years)			.18
18–29	20 (33.9)	39 (66.1)
30–39	22 (31.0)	49 (69.0)
40–49	61 (35.1)	113 (64.9)
50–59	63 (40.9)	91 (59.1)
>60	56 (45.9)	66 (54.1)
Sex			.08
Male	116 (42.0)	160 (58.0)
Female	106 (34.9)	198 (66.0)
Race			<.01
Non-Hispanic White	27 (16.0)	142 (84.0)
Non-Hispanic Black	143 (47.7)	157 (52.3)
Hispanic/other race ^a	48 (44.4)	60 (55.6)
Education			<.01
Less than eighth grade	20 (71.4)	8 (28.6)
Incomplete high school	54 (60.7)	35 (39.3)
High school degree or equivalent	95 (45.0)	116 (55.0)
College	46 (19.1)	195 (80.9)
Income			<.01
None to <$10,000	105 (47.1)	118 (52.9)
$10,001 to $30,000	81 (40.1)	121 (59.9)
$30,001 to $50,000	23 (31.9)	49 (68.1)
$50,000 or greater	10 (18.5)	44 (81.5)
Other (missing/refused)	3 (10.0)	27 (90.0)
Employment status			<.01
Employed	49 (27.5)	129 (72.5)
Unemployed	71 (43.8)	91 (56.2)
Retired	35 (42.2)	48 (57.8)
Disabled	67 (42.4)	91 (57.6)
Insurance			<.01
Private	60 (31.8)	129 (68.3)
Government/free	146 (42.6)	197 (57.4)
None	12 (26.7)	33 (73.3)
Has primary care provider			.82
Yes	182 (38.0)	297 (62.0)
No	40 (39.2)	62 (60.8)
Born in the United States			<.01
Yes	156 (34.4)	297 (65.6)
No	66 (52.6)	62 (48.4)
English primary language			<.01
Yes	186 (36.1)	329 (63.9)
No	32 (52.5)	29 (47.5)
Depression status (Patient Health Questionnaire-9)			.41
Severe depression	31 (44.9)	38 (55.1)
Mild depression	11 (42.3)	15 (57.7)
No depression	178 (37.0)	303 (63.0)

Table 2. Adjusted multivariate logistic regression of factors associated with CAM use, provider-delivered therapy, herbal medicine, and relaxation technique use

Characteristics	Any CAM use	Only provider-delivered therapies	Only herbal medicine	Only relaxation techniques
Non-Hispanic Black
Low health literacy	1	1	1	1
Higher health literacy	1.24 (0.76, 2.02)	0.90 (0.52, 1.56)	1.23 (0.68, 2.23)	2.59 (1.39, 4.85)
Non-Hispanic White
Low health literacy	1	1	1	1
Higher health literacy	3.68 (1.27, 9.99)	1.22 (0.46, 3.25)	2.77(0.74, 10.31)	3.78 (1.33, 10.73)
Hispanic/other race
Low health literacy	1	1	1	1
Higher health literacy	3.40 (1.46, 7.91)	3.59 (1.27, 10.19)	1.47 (0.55, 3.92)	3.37(1.09, 10.39)