Evaluating the Role and Impact of Health Literacy for Patients Undergoing Knee Surgery.

Abstract

Health literacy is defined as "the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic medical information and services and the competence to use such information and services to enhance health." Much of the research regarding health literacy in orthopaedic surgery has focused on readability of educational materials. However, the role of health literacy in patient-reported outcomes is somewhat unknown. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the body of literature pertaining to health literacy and knee surgery outcomes. A literature search was performed using keywords and MeSH terms in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane. Articles written between 1990 and 2021 were evaluated for inclusion. The title and abstract of all studies returned in each database search were screened. In the case that these did not provide sufficient information, the full-text article was reviewed. The initial database search returned a total of 974 articles for review. Eight of these were duplicate results, and one article had been retracted after publication, leaving a total of 965 to be screened for inclusion. Ninety-six articles remained after screening titles and abstracts for relevance. After applying inclusion criteria, six articles remained and were included in this review. It is clear that health literacy impacts patient outcomes in health care and this review suggests that general and musculoskeletal health literacy affect patient expectations, outcomes, and satisfaction before and after knee surgery. However, the peer-reviewed literature on this topic is still deficient in terms of determining effective methods for addressing this barrier to optimal patient care. Research should focus on further elucidation of the relationships among health literacy, readability, and patient education for optimizing patient outcomes and satisfaction across orthopaedic subspecialties.