Table 2 Weighted response to each question in the ‘understanding information’ and ‘ability to engage’ domains
Itemsa | Cannot do or always difficult | Usually difficult | Sometimes difficult | Usually easy | Always easy | Low Health Literacyb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UNDERSTANDING INFORMATION | ||||||
Confidently fill medical forms in the correct way (1U) | 1.5% | 4.7% | 15.4% | 58.0% | 20.4% | 21.6% |
Accurately follow instructions from … (2U) | 0.9% | 1.8% | 12.5% | 62.8% | 21.9% | 15.2% |
Read and understand written health information (3U) | 1.4% | 3.4% | 14.6% | 56.2% | 24.4% | 19.4% |
Read and understand all the information on medication labels (4U) | 1.4% | 3.3% | 14.9% | 57.2% | 23.2% | 19.6% |
Understand what healthcare providers are asking you to do (5U) | 0.9% | 2.3% | 13.3% | 63.4% | 20.1% | 16.5% |
ABILITY TO ENGAGE | ||||||
Make sure that healthcare providers understand your problems properly (1A) | 1.6% | 5.2% | 28.3% | 54.9% | 10.2% | 35.1% |
Feel able to discuss your health concerns with a healthcare provider (2A) | 1.1% | 4.1% | 18.0% | 60.7% | 16.1% | 23.2% |
Have good discussions about your health with doctors (3A) | 1.9% | 5.1% | 18.7% | 55.9% | 18.4% | 25.7% |
Discuss things with healthcare providers until you understand all you need to (4A) | 1.2% | 3.6% | 20.1% | 56.2% | 18.9% | 24.9% |
Ask healthcare providers questions to get the health information … (5A) | 0.9% | 4.2% | 17.6% | 58.4% | 19.0% | 22.7% |