Self-reported health literacy and health information seeking among New York State residents

Background: Understanding the association of health literacy (HL) with patterns related to access and usage of digital technologies, as well as preferences for receiving health information, is necessary for agencies and organizations to effectively target channels for health information dissemination.

Methods: A cross-sectional telephone survey (landlines and cell phones) was developed to assess media and technology access, use patterns, health seeking information patterns, and preferences for receiving health information for a sample of New York adult residents (n=1,350). HL was assessed using the Morris Single-Item Screener, a self-report question. A weighted analysis was conducted utilizing Stata/SE.

Results:  Self-reported HL did not predict digital technology usage (i.e., internet and smartphone use, text messaging). Those with lower self-reported HL were generally less likely to report using social networking sites (SNS) (p=.021) but more likely to report using SNS for health information (p=.002). Most importantly, those with lower self-reported HL also reported greater difficulty with their most recent search for health information. Further, they were more likely to prefer text messages (p=.006) and TV (p=.025), but less likely to prefer websites (p=.037), to receive health information from agencies and organizations.

Conclusions:  While self-reported HL does not appear to influence access to and use of digital technologies, there does seem to be a strong association with experiences searching for health information. Simply disseminating information may not be enough, as the information may not be found and understood by those who need it the most.