Healthcare is becoming more complicated and demanding each year. Futuristic technologies, genetic engineering, highly specific drugs, complex insurance plans, and confusing and often conflicting messages from the media all add to the problem. Knowing how to access, understand, and use information about healthcare (i.e., health literacy) is becoming more of a challenge for everyone. According to the Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health in America, profound and consequential oral health disparities exist in the United States today. Epidemiological assessments reveal that low-income and minority populations have the highest incidence and prevalence of oral diseases and disorders. Given that these groups are also most likely to have limited health literacy skills means that they are especially vulnerable to the complications of the healthcare system and most in need of assistance. In order for effective interventions to be developed and implemented, however, a clearer understanding of the associations between limited health literacy and oral health need to be gained. At the heart of that understanding is knowing the ways that different health literacy skills (e.g., reading comprehension, numeracy, conceptual knowledge) work individually and as a group to support oral healthcare decision making and, ultimately, oral health outcomes. These findings would improve oral health and general well-being, and reduce disparities for millions in the nation. The proposed research project brings an experienced multidisciplinary team together from Baltimore, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington, DC to comprehensively study these associations between health literacy and oral health. A cross-section of dental patients presenting to three dental clinics in Maryland and California will be recruited and a series of assessments will be administered during face-to-face encounters. These data will also be linked to clinical records so that retrospective and prospective use of dental care services, including expenditures and utilization, may be concurrently assessed.
The specific aims of the project include: 1) determining the structural relations between health literacy, oral healthcare decision making, and oral health status;2) determining the extent to which four different measures of health literacy represent unique skills;and 3) determining the extent to which four different measures of health literacy are associated with oral health, independent of selected sociodemographic and healthcare-related covariates. The proposed project is significant because it represents the first to comprehensively study the associations between health literacy and oral health. It is also significant because it will serve as a guide for comprehensive assessments of health literacy and other health outcomes, outside of dentistry. The project is innovative because it combines multiple measures of health literacy, healthcare decision-making, and oral health outcomes into a single investigation. It is also innovative because it incorporates powerful and contemporary statistical analyses that will reveal the relative contribution of each variable to the overall model, while controlling for the aforementioned covariates.

Public Health Relevance

Successful completion of the proposed project will result in a comprehensive understanding of the extent to which health literacy is associated with oral health. Gaining this understanding will lead to interventions aimed at improving oral health and reducing oral health disparities, benefitting millions of low-income and minority Americans. In addition, the proposed project will serve as a model for comprehensive studies of the links between health literacy and other health outcomes, beyond dentistry. This more global approach will greatly expand the field of health literacy and increase the likelihood of successful interventions in medicine.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01DE020858-04
Application #
8635326
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-RPHB-A (50))
Program Officer
Nowjack-Raymer, Ruth
Project Start
2011-04-08
Project End
2015-03-31
Budget Start
2014-04-01
Budget End
2015-03-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$597,091
Indirect Cost
$66,771
Name
University of Maryland Baltimore
Department
Dentistry
Type
Schools of Dentistry
DUNS #
188435911
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21201
Macek, Mark D; Atchison, Kathryn A; Wells, William et al. (2017) Did you know Medicare does not usually include a dental benefit? Findings from a multisite investigation of oral health literacy. J Public Health Dent 77:95-98
Holtzman, Jennifer S; Atchison, Kathryn A; Macek, Mark D et al. (2017) Oral Health Literacy and Measures of Periodontal Disease. J Periodontol 88:78-88
Atchison, Kathryn A; Macek, Mark D; Markovic, Daniela (2017) The value of a combined word recognition and knowledge measure to understand characteristics of our patients' oral health literacy. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 45:380-388
Macek, Mark D; Atchison, Kathryn A; Chen, Haiyan et al. (2017) Oral health conceptual knowledge and its relationships with oral health outcomes: Findings from a Multi-site Health Literacy Study. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 45:323-329
Aldoory, Linda; Macek, Mark D; Atchison, Kathryn A et al. (2016) Comparing Well-Tested Health Literacy Measures for Oral Health: A Pilot Assessment. J Health Commun 21:1161-1169
Macek, Mark D; Atchison, Kathryn A; Watson, Maria Rosa et al. (2016) Assessing health literacy and oral health: preliminary results of a multi-site investigation. J Public Health Dent 76:303-313
Holtzman, Jennifer S; Atchison, Kathryn A; Gironda, Melanie W et al. (2014) The association between oral health literacy and failed appointments in adults attending a university-based general dental clinic. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 42:263-70
Gironda, Melanie; Der-Martirosian, Claudia; Messadi, Diana et al. (2013) A brief 20-item dental/medical health literacy screen (REALMD-20). J Public Health Dent 73:50-5
Macek, Mark D; Manski, Marion C; Schneiderman, Maryann T et al. (2011) Knowledge of oral health issues among low-income Baltimore adults: a pilot study. J Dent Hyg 85:49-56
Atchison, Kathryn A; Gironda, Melanie W; Messadi, Diana et al. (2010) Screening for oral health literacy in an urban dental clinic. J Public Health Dent 70:269-75

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