Abstract
Background: Inadequate health literacy has been associated with an increased risk of hospital readmissions in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). This may be related to patients’ ability to understand discharge instructions. We evaluated associations of health literacy to discharge summary comprehension and the occurrence of 30-day CHF readmissions.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 46 patients admitted to the University of Maryland Medical Center was conducted in 2019 and 2021. Health literacy was determined by Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) scores. Discharge summary comprehension was determined by the number of correct answers to a 10-item questionnaire.
Results: The occurrence of 30-day CHF readmissions and demographics were collected by survey. Patients with higher REALM scores performed significantly better on a discharge summary comprehension questionnaire (p-value= 0.0003). There was no significant difference either in REALM score (p-value= 0.9) or discharge summary questionnaire performance (p-value= 0.9) between patients who did and did not experience a 30-day readmission. Multivariate logistical regression found black race (p-value= 0.03) and high school graduation (p-value= 0.004) were associated with lower odds of readmission.
Conclusion: Higher REALM scores are associated with better comprehension of discharge instructions, but REALM score and discharge summary comprehension were not associated with 30-day readmissions.
Keywords: Congestive heart failure, Discharge planning, Health literacy, Hospital readmission
Recommended Citation
Schindler A, Baek D, Weiner S.
Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) is associated with congestive heart failure (CHF) Discharge Summary Comprehension, but not Readmission.
J Health Res.
2024;
38(4):-.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56808/2586-940X.1084
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