Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

Magdeline Aagard

Abstract

Until recently, many health literacy studies were completed from the patient and nurse perspective, while few focused on the physician perspective, specifically the primary care physician. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the health literacy knowledge and education of primary care physicians and determine the association, if any, between physicians’ perceptions of patients’ limited health literacy and physicians’ use of health literacy communication techniques. The knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) framework directed this study. This framework posits that knowledge informs or influences attitudes, which leads to practices. The KAP framework was employed to answer the research questions regarding whether physicians’ health literacy education and/or health literacy knowledge is associated with their attitudes toward health literacy and the use of health literacy communication strategies. A quantitative cross-sectional online survey was used to gain insight from primary care physicians and a one-way multivariate analysis of variance was the test selected to answer the research questions. The results revealed no statistically significant association between primary care physicians’ health literacy knowledge or education and the use of effective health literacy communication strategies and attitudes towards the role of health literacy in patient care. However, the descriptive statistics support the need for mandatory health literacy education for medical professionals, as well as the need to universally, proactively, and consistently address health literacy in patient-physician communication to empower patients and ultimately improve health outcomes.

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