Organizational Health Literacy in a Hospital—Insights on the Patients’ Perspective

Johanna Sophie Lubasch, Mona Voigt-Barbarowicz, Nicole Ernstmann, Christoph Kowalski, Anna Levke Brütt and Lena Ansmann
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Johanna Sophie Lubasch: Department of Health Services Research, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
Mona Voigt-Barbarowicz: Department of Health Services Research, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
Nicole Ernstmann: Center for Health Communication and Health Services Research (CHSR), Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Christoph Kowalski: German Cancer Society (DKG), 14057 Berlin, Germany
Anna Levke Brütt: Department of Health Services Research, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
Lena Ansmann: Department of Health Services Research, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-14

Abstract: Health literacy-sensitive communication has been found to be an important dimension of organizational health literacy measured from the patients’ perspective. Little is known about the role of health literacy-sensitive communication in complex care structures. Therefore, our aim was to assess which hospital characteristics (in terms of process organization) and patient characteristics (e.g., age, chronic illness, etc.) contribute to better perceptions of health literacy-sensitive communication, as well as whether better health literacy-sensitive communication is associated with better patient reported experiences. Data were derived from a patient survey conducted in 2020 in four clinical departments of a university hospital in Germany. Health literacy-sensitive communication was measured with the HL-COM scale. Data from 209 patients (response rate 24.2%) were analyzed with a structural equation model (SEM). Results revealed that no patient characteristics were associated with HL-COM scores. Better process organization as perceived by patients was associated with significantly better HL-COM scores, and, in turn, better HL-COM scores were associated with more patient-reported social support provided by physicians and nurses as well as fewer unmet information needs. Investing into good process organization might improve health literacy-sensitive communication, which in turn has the potential to foster the patient–provider relationship as well as to reduce unmet information needs of patients.

Keywords: health literacy-sensitive communication; patient–professional relationship; HL-COM; information needs; patient survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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