Understanding the Gap: Perceived Health Literacy Levels Among Spanish-Speaking Immigrants in Miami-Dade County, 2016

Abstract

Health literacy levels among immigrant populations in Miami-Dade County have yet to be examined. This study investigates perceived health literacy ability and measured health literacy scores among Miami-Dade County immigrants. Methods: Patients seen in the Refugee Health Assessment Program and Family Planning Program completed a health literacy assessment in November 2016. Participants were immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries who reported living in the U.S. for ≤ 10 years. Logistic regression models were used to determine predictors of agreement. 283 patients responded. No characteristics were significant predictors of agreement; However, we found lower agreement among participants that were 18–24 years old (49%), received medical information from the internet/television (46%), and had lived in the U.S. for only 6–12 months (49%). Our findings suggest that immigrant patients may have limited understanding of their health literacy abilities. Clinicians need to take health literacy levels into account when interacting with patients.