Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28211318›Full record

ArticleDeutsches Arzteblatt international2017

Health Literacy in the German Population.

Doris Schaeffer, Eva-Maria Berens, Dominique Vogt

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 119 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
119citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

119 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Assessment Tools for Health Literacy among the General Population: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018
    Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Health Literacy among Pregnant Women in a Lifestyle Intervention Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Trial
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  20. Health Literacy Gaps Across Language Groups: A Population-Based Assessment in Alto Adige/South Tyrol, Italy.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025
    Article

59 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Doris SchaefferWorking Group for Health Services Research and Nursing Science, School of Public Health, Bielefeld University.
Eva-Maria Berens
Dominique Vogt

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPersons with low health literacy have difficulty dealing with the health care system and understanding health-related information. Studies from multiple countries have shown that low health literacy negatively affects health, health-related and illness-related behavior, and the utilization of health care resources. The data available till now on health literacy in Germany have been sparse. The goal of this study is to acquire representative data on the health literacy of the German population.

methodsIn a cross-sectional study, we collected data from a representative group of 2000 persons over age 15 in Germany by means of computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) that were based on the long version of the questionnaire used in the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU-Q47). Sociodemographic data were also collected.

resultsThe respondents were a representative sample of the German population. 54.3% of them were found to have limited health literacy. Multiple logistic regression revealed associations of limited health literacy with advanced age (odds ratio [OR] 1.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.36; 2.48]), an immigrant background (OR 1.87 [1.27; 2.75]), low self-assessed social status (OR 5.25 [3.57; 7.72]), and low functional literacy (OR 1.94 [1.49; 2.52]).

conclusionThe low health literacy of many Germans can impair communication between doctors and patients and exacerbate existing problems in health policy. In the future, greater effort will have to be made to foster health literacy, make health-related information for patients easier to understand, and intensify research in the field of health literacy.

Indexed as

Health LiteracySurveys and QuestionnairesAdolescentAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID28211318
PMCPMC5319379

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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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.