Health literacy outcomes
March 26, 2013
A NEW study published in The
Journal of General Internal
Medicine has found that adult
patients with diabetes who don't
understand basic health
information are significantly less
likely to take newly prescribed
antidepressant medication.
Conducted by the Kaiser
Permanente Division of Research
and the University of Washington
School of Medicine, 72% of the
1,366 type 2 diabetic study
participants had limited health
literacy and had significantly poorer
adherence to newly prescribed
antidepressants, compared to
patients with no limitations.
Health literacy was based on a
self-reported scale in which
participants with type 2 diabetes
responded to three questions: How
often do you have problems
learning about your medical
condition because of difficulty
understanding written
information?; How confident are
you filling out medical forms by
yourself?; and How often do you
have someone like a family
member, friend, hospital or clinic
worker or caregiver, help you read
health plan materials?
The study examined medication
nonadherence during the 12 months
after the initial antidepressant
prescription, and researchers found
that many patients failed to adhere
to their treatment.
Although most patients filled the
prescription at least once, 43%
failed to fill the prescription a
second time, and nearly two-thirds
had discontinued the
antidepressant by the end of the
12-month period.
“Depression in adults with
diabetes is frequently chronic,
suggesting the need for long-term
antidepressant therapy,” said lead
author Dr Amy Bauer of the
University of Washington School of
Medicine.
“The high rates of early
discontinuation that were observed
among adults with diabetes who
had any health literacy limitation
suggest that few of these
individuals received an adequate
course of antidepressant therapy.
“Getting that sufficient treatment
is critical in preventing relapse and
recurrence of depression.
“Physicians should be aware of
this.
“For antidepressant treatment to
succeed, patients with limited
health literacy may require more
intensive counseling and clearer
explanations about use of
antidepressant medications and
closer follow-up,” Dr Bauer
added.
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