Health Literacy in Geriatric Patients

Health Literacy is one's ability to understand health information well enough to make informed decisions about their health. Limited health literacy makes it hard for people to understand complex health issues and follow health care recommendations. Limited health literacy is associated with adverse health outcomes such as higher mortality, increased risk of emergency department visits and hospital admissions leading to higher medical costs. Although there are tools to assess health literacy, they are not widely used, so many healthcare providers do not measure their patients' health literacy levels adequately. Health care workers tend to overestimate their patients' health literacy. This is especially important for older adults who often have memory problems and multiple illnesses. This study will evaluate how doctors and team members in a geriatric clinic estimate their patient's health literacy and determine if this matches with the patients' health literacy as measured by a simple validated questionnaire. The investigators will also look at how a patient's relative or caregiver estimates their health literacy using a similar short questionnaire. The research team plans to follow up with a telephone call in 6 months, to see which health concerns if any have occurred since the clinic visit.