Health literacy of patients eligible for cochlear implants

Abstract

Background

Hearing loss is known to be an independent risk factor for inadequate health literacy. The objective of this study was to assess the level of health literacy among patients undergoing cochlear implantation to determine areas for improvement in delivery of patient information.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the otology-neurotology clinic at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Patients eligible for cochlear implantation completed two health literacy screening tools: The Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) and Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS).

Results

Thirty seven patients were included (41% female, 59% male, mean age: 55 years). Most patients had adequate health literacy through BHLS (76%) and S-TOFHLA (98%) scoring. Over 80% of patients were not able to correctly recount all the operative risks associated with cochlear implant surgery and one third of patients did not correctly recount any risks associated with a cochlear implant surgery. Female sex was associated with higher scores (p=0.03) and low income (<$35,000) was associated with lower scores (p=0.05).

Conclusion

Patients eligible for cochlear implants have adequate health literacy, but most are not able to recount operative risks. Educational tools are required to improve patient retention, understand, and perioperative health information delivery.

Keywords:

• Health literacy
• Cochlear implant
• Patient education

Acknowledgement

None

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Dorsa Mavedatnia

Dorsa Mavedatnia– MD, Resident, Dept Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto.

Lily Wang

Lily Wang– MD, Resident, Dept Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto.

Alex Kiss

Alex Kiss– PhD, Assistant Professor, Scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute.

Eric Monteiro

Eric Monteiro– MD, MSc, Associate Professor, Sinai Health System, Dept Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto.

Vincent Lin

Vincent Lin– MD, Professor, Associate Scientist, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Cochlear Implant Program, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Dept Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, University of Toronto.