Health Literacy, Self-Care Activities, and Glycemic Control among Older Korean Type 2 Diabetes Patients

초록

Limited health literacy is associated with receiving fewer preventive services, difficulty following medication instructions, and with poorer health outcomes. The prevalence of diabetes among elderly in Korea has been increasing dramatically. Yet, little is known about the effect of health literacy on self-care activities and glycemic control in older Korean type 2 diabetes patients. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate how health literacy relates self care activities including medication adherence and glycemic control among older Korean type 2 diabetes patients. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in an outpatient clinic of diabetes center in Korea from January to July 2009, with medical record review. The average age of total 126 participants was 66.7 ± 5.4 years and 54 % of them were women. Eighty nine participants (71 %) had adequate health literacy. When comparing participants with adequate health literacy, participants with limited health literacy were more likely to have lower level of education and have difficulties in understanding written information on their diseases. Participants with adequate health literacy had a greater understanding about diabetes and their treatment regimen (p<.05). However, no difference was found in self care activities, medication adherence, FBS, and HbA1C level between groups. Further evaluations are needed to identify the long term effect of health literacy level on diabetes related health outcomes in older adults.