Parents' Health Literacy and Emergency Room Visits

Posted by Patricia Devine on September 3rd, 2016 Posted in: Health Literacy

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Parents’ health literacy (the ability to obtain, process and understand the information needed to make appropriate decision about their health) can impact the health of their children. Research shows that low health literacy in parents is associated with a higher number of visits to the Emergency Department by their children. Roughly one in three parents of children coming to the Emergency Department are thought to have low health literacy. Conditions such as asthma, which may be better treated by home visits, can result instead to emergency visits without parents having the right treatment information.

In addition to educating patients and families about their health and equipping them with the information they need to make informed decisions, healthcare providers and all those in the healthcare system must be educated about the effects of health literacy and given the tools they need to improve parents’ health literacy. Follow up phone calls, visits, and education about symptoms can help reduce the non-urgent need of emergency care.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends pediatricians assess parents’ health literacy levels during well child visits in a new study: Parent Health Literacy, Depression, and Risk for Pediatric Injury, in the July 2016 issue of Pediatrics. It is estimated that 80 million adults in the U.S. have low health literacy, and it’s now being studied as a variable in children’s health as well.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit for primary care providers offers ways to reduce the complexities of healthcare and increase patient understanding and enhance support for patients and families.

Additional References:

1. Morrison, Andrea K. et al. “The Relationship Between Parent Health Literacy and Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization: A Systematic Review.” Academic pediatrics 13.5 (2013): 10.1016/j.acap.2013.03.001. PMC.
2. Herman, A. et al. “Impact of a health literacy intervention on pediatric emergency department use.” Pediatric Emergency Care 25.7 (2009): doi: 10.1097/PEC.0b013e3181ab78c7.
3. MedlinePlus: Health Literacy, Talking With Your Doctor, Hospitals as Health Educators.