Numeracy and Home Blood Pressure Measurement Reporting
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- January 13, 2020
- Creator
-
Rao, Vishal
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Public Health Leadership Program
- Abstract
- Background: Numeracy, a component of overall health literacy, affects the way patients understand and process numerical health information. Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM), a valuable tool in predicting CVD risk and end-organ damage independent of office BPs, requires the self-measurement and reporting of numerical health information and may be limited by patient understanding. To my knowledge, the relationship between numeracy and quality of HBPM has not been previously described. In this study, I examined the association of numeracy level with the completeness of home BP reporting. Methods: A systematic review of recent literature was conducted to describe the relationship between low numeracy and health-related skills, self-efficacy, and other health-related outcomes among patients with chronic disease. Following the literature review, I analyzed data from 420 adults participating in a four week BP measurement study who performed HBPM and completed a validated 3-item numeracy assessment. Participants were asked to complete triplicate home BP measurements twice daily for 5 consecutive days during week 1 and week 3. Demographic information and health literacy assessments were also collected. Total percentages of completed home BP readings by low vs. high numeracy level were summarized using descriptive statistics, and I performed multivariate regression analyses to identify potential confounders that may mediate the effect of numeracy on completion of home BP reporting. Results: Four studies of numeracy published since 2010 were identified in the systematic review. Two studies measured health care utilization, one study measured diabetes self-efficacy, and two studies measured severity of diabetes as outcomes by numeracy level. The evidence was low for disease severity and was insufficient for self-efficacy and health care utilization. Among the 420 adults who performed HBPM, nearly one-third had low numeracy (score of 0 or 1) and two-thirds had adequate numeracy (score of 2 or 3). Those with adequate numeracy reported completing home BP readings more than those with low numeracy (96.2% vs. 93.7%; P=0.009), which held true after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence in the current literature describing the relationship between numeracy and health-related skills. Among patients with borderline high blood pressures, higher numeracy level is associated with more complete reporting of home BP readings, although the difference is small. More research is needed to assess whether higher numeracy is a predictor of more accurate BP readings, and whether this trend holds true in the context of other numerical health parameters.
- Date of publication
- August 2014
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Paper type: Research or research design
- Track: HC&P
- Advisor
- Viera, Anthony
- Reviewer
- Sheridan, Stacey
- Degree
- Master of Public Health
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2014
- Language
- Deposit record
- a7c51abb-1a41-4d3f-9a8a-ebcb49d7a008
Relations
- Parents:
This work has no parents.
Items
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
VishalRao_MastersPaper_FINAL_signed.pdf | 2020-01-13 | Public | Download |