142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Online Program

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

305587
Relationship Between Limited Health Literacy and Self-Rated “Poor Health” In Older Chinese Immigrant Adults

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Janice Y. Tsoh, PhD , Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, and Asian American Research Center on Health (ARCH), San Francisco, CA
Tetine Sentell, PhD , Office of Public Health Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Ginny Gildengorin, PhD , Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Gem Le, PhD , Department of Medicine, UCSF, and Asian American Research Center on Health (ARCH), San Francisco, CA
Elaine Chow, BA , NICOS Chinese Health Coalition, San Francisco, CA
Lei-Chun Fung, MPH, MSW , Health Education Department, Chinatown Public Health Center, San Francisco, CA
Rena Pasick, DrPH , Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Susan Stewart, PhD , Division of Biostatistics, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA
Ching Wong, BS , Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Kent Woo, MSW , NICOS Chinese Health Coalition, San Francisco, CA
Adam Burke, PhD, MPH, LAc , Health Education/Holistic Health Studies, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Jun Wang, PhD , Health Education, San Francisco State University, and Asian American Research Center on Health (ARCH), San Francisco, CA
Stephen J. McPhee, MD , Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Tung T. Nguyen, MD , Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, and and Asian American Research Center on Health (ARCH), San Francisco, CA
BACKGROUND: Older age and limited English proficiency (LEP) are associated with poor health. This study examined the association between health literacy (HL) and perceived health status in a sample of older Chinese immigrant adults with LEP.

METHODS: Cross-sectional survey data from a convenience sample of 525 Chinese American immigrants aged 50 to 75 were analyzed. A validated instrument, the Single Item Literacy Screener, which asked if respondents needed assistance in reading health materials from their doctor or pharmacy, was used to assess HL. Response options “never or rarely”, “sometimes”, and “often or always” defined “adequate,” “low,” and “poor” HL, respectively. A single item was used to assess self-rated health.

RESULTS: In the sample, 18% were males, 71% were non-high school graduates, 96% had LEP and 65% perceived their health as fair or poor. Prevalence of low HL was 34% and poor HL was 37%. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, compared to those with adequate HL, those who had low HL (OR=2.2; 95% CI: 1.2, 3.9) or poor HL (OR=2.0; 95% CI: 1.2, 3.5) were more likely to report poor health. This association was independent of other significant correlates including being born in China, speaking English “not at all”, having had a doctor visit in the past year, and having at least one chronic health condition.   

CONCLUSION:  Health literacy levels are low among older Chinese immigrants and associated with poor perceived health status. Improving health literacy by addressing patients’ needs in health communications is important in health promotion in this population.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Public health or related education
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe limited health literacy prevalence among older Chinese immigrant adults in the United States. Identify significant factors that are associated with self-rated poor health among older Chinese adults. Discuss opportunities for health literacy interventions in health promotion with this population.

Keyword(s): Asian Americans, Health Literacy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor at the University of California San Francisco. I have more than 14 years of experience in conducting clinical intervention and outcome research in cancer prevention and tobacco control with a focus on underserved minority populations .
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3292.0: Aging Issues in Minority, Rural, and Other Vulnerable Populations