• Military medicine · Jan 2023

    Assessing the Impact of Military Service on Patient Health Literacy in an Otolaryngology Clinic.

    • Danielle A Morrison, Charles A Riley, and Anthony M Tolisano.
    • Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20889, USA.
    • Mil Med. 2023 Jan 4; 188 (1-2): e333e338e333-e338.

    ObjectiveTo examine the impact of military service on health literacy.Study DesignProspective, cross-sectional study.Subjects And MethodsThe validated Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS) with military supplement was administered to sequential adult patients (military and civilian) treated at two outpatient academic military otolaryngology clinics between November and December 2019. Inadequate health literacy, defined by a BHLS score ≤9, was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included comparisons of inadequate BHLS scores with patient demographics and history of military service.ResultsThree hundred and eighty-two patients were evaluated during the study period. The median age was 48-57 years, with a majority being male (230, 60.2%), White (264, 69.1%), married (268, 70.2%), and active duty military (303, 79.3%). A minority reported history of PTSD (39, 13%) or traumatic brain injury (29, 9.6%). Overall, very few subjects (10, 2.6%) demonstrated inadequate health literacy. Patients with prior (1.6% vs 6.3%, P < .05) or current (0% vs 5.0%, P < .05) military service had lower rates of inadequate health literary as compared to civilians. Gender, race, marital status, history of PTSD, and history of traumatic brain injury did not significantly impact health literacy. In a multivariate regression model exploring history of military service, age was not predictive of inadequate health literacy.ConclusionsBoth history of and current military service predict higher health literacy rates for patients treated at military otolaryngology clinics. Widely accessible health care and mandatory health evaluations for service members to maintain deployment readiness may contribute to this finding but warrant additional study.© The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2021. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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