ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2013
Suboptimal health literacy in patients with lung cancer or head and neck cancer.
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions for Concerning Patient-Reported Outcomes in Routine Cancer Care: A Systematic Review.Annals of surgical oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Different Measures, Different Outcomes? A Systematic Review of Performance-Based versus Self-Reported Measures of Health Literacy and Numeracy.Journal of general internal medicine · 2015Pooled it
- Lung Cancer: A New Tool to Measure Literacy and Enhance Primary Prevention in Brazil.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2026Article
- Health literacy correlates, barriers, and adherence in post-prostatectomy sexual rehabilitation: cross-sectional findings from China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Observational
- Exploring the association between community-level factors and health literacy using multilevel analysis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Association of health literacy with cancer survival: a single-centre prospective cohort study.Acta oncologica (Stockholm, Sweden) · 2025Article
- Empowering Recovery: A Co-Designed Intervention to Transform Care for Operable Lung Cancer.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025Article
- Factors associated with quality of life among patients with a newly diagnosed oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer.European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society · 2023Article
- Outpatient secondary care pathways for head and neck cancer referral result in patient delays for cancer treatment.Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · 2023Article
- A critical readability and quality analysis of internet-based patient information on neck dissections.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2023Article
- Readability of the American, Canadian, and British Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Societies' Patient Materials.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2022Article
- The association of self-efficacy and health literacy to chemotherapy self-management behaviors and health service utilization.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Article
- Health literacy impacts self-management, quality of life and fear of recurrence in head and neck cancer survivors.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2021Article
- Telemedicine for head and neck cancer surveillance in the COVID-19 era: Promise and pitfalls.Head & neck · 2021Article
- Health literacy: Impact on quality of life in head and neck cancer survivors.The Laryngoscope · 2020Article
- Health Literacy, Language, and Cancer-Related Needs in the First 6 Months After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis.JCO oncology practice · 2020Article
- Preferences for notification of imaging results in patients with metastatic cancer.Patient education and counseling · 2020Article
- Obtaining Patient-Reported Outcomes Electronically With "OncoFunction" in Head and Neck Cancer Patients During Aftercare.Frontiers in oncology · 2020Article
- Demographic, clinical, lifestyle-related, and social-cognitive correlates of physical activity in head and neck cancer survivors.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHealth literacy is the capacity to seek, understand and utilise health information to make informed health decisions. Suboptimal health literacy has been linked to poor health outcomes. This study assessed health literacy in patients treated for head and neck or lung cancer and associations between health literacy and demographic factors and distress levels.
methodsConsecutive English-speaking patients were approached at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Health literacy was assessed using the Shortened Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) and Health Literacy Management Scale (HeLMS). Distress was assessed by the Distress Thermometer.
resultsResponse rate was 73 % (n = 93). Using S-TOFHLA, prevalence of inadequate and marginal health literacy was 5.4 and 6.5 % respectively, and both groups were associated with older age (p = 0.043) and low education level (p = 0.009). Specific assessment of S-TOFHLA revealed that 70 % could not interpret prescription labels. HeLMS reported that 17 % had health literacy difficulties. Low scores on domains of HeLMS were associated with lower education level (p < 0.05) but younger age (p < 0.05). Distress was not associated with S-TOFHLA scores but related to low scores in two domains of HeLMS (p < 0.05).
conclusionUsing two different measures, a substantial proportion of patients have poor health literacy abilities and may experience difficulties in accessing health services.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.