Health Literacy And Prescription Drug Adherence Among Elderly Type Two Diabetics
Open Access
- Author:
- Usnik, Leanna Marie
- Area of Honors:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Frank Martin Ahern, Thesis Supervisor
David John Vandenbergh, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Health Literacy
Prescription Drug Adherence
Elderly Type Two Diabetics - Abstract:
- Health literacy problems and low medication adherence are significant issues in the United States and have been linked to negative outcomes (Berkman et al., 2011). Health literacy is “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” (Nielsen-Bohlman et al., 2004). Medication adherence is the level to which a patient takes their medication as prescribed by their healthcare provider (Lesen, 2011). The purpose of this study is to determine whether health literacy is related to medication adherence levels of elderly Type II diabetics in Pennsylvania. The data examined were obtained from the Pennsylvania Assistance Contract for the Elderly (PACE), a state-funded program providing pharmaceutical assistance to lower-income elderly persons. Pharmaceutical claims data and survey data on health literacy were provided for the 20,761 elderly applicants that met this study’s main criteria. All study subjects were community dwelling elderly aged 65 or older who were using medications for Type II diabetes. The results show significant associations of literacy with demographic factors, with higher likelihood of literacy problems being found in older age groups, Hispanics, and males. The results of this study also indicate that literacy, as well as demographic factors, are significant associated with non-adherence. Elderly who reported any literacy problems were more likely than those without literacy issues to demonstrate poor adherence to antidiabetic therapy. Although further research is needed, the results suggest that intervention efforts to improve medication literacy among older diabetics may have a bearing on medication adherence and adherence-related diabetes outcomes.