• Lindsay C Kobayashi, Jane Wardle, and Christian von Wagner.
• Health Behaviour Research Centre, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK. Electronic address: l.kobayashi.12@ucl.ac.uk.
• Prev Med. 2014 Apr 1; 61: 100-5.

ObjectiveTo determine the association between health literacy and participation in publicly available colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in England using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA).MethodsELSA is a population-based study of English adults aged ≥ 50 years. Health literacy, participation in the national CRC screening programme, and covariates were interview-assessed in 2010-11. All those age-eligible for screening from 2006 to 11 were included in the present analysis (n=3087). The association between health literacy and screening was estimated using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression.Results73% of participants had adequate health literacy skills. Screening uptake was 58% among those with adequate and 48% among those with limited health literacy skills. Having adequate health literacy was associated with greater odds of CRC screening (multivariable adjusted OR=1.20; 95% CI: 1.00-1.44), independent of other predictors of screening: age (OR=0.92; 95% CI: 0.91-0.94 per one year increase), female sex (OR=1.31; 95% CI: 1.11-1.54), and being in a higher wealth quintile (OR=1.88; 95% CI: 1.43-2.49).ConclusionsLimited health literacy is a barrier to participation in England's national, publicly available CRC screening programme. Interventions should include appropriate design of information materials, provision of alternative support, and increased one-on-one interaction with health care professionals.Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

34 keywords...

hide…