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Health literacy of parents of very preterm infants at NICU admission and discharge: a prospective cohort study

Journal of Perinatology volume 39, pages 866–875 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

To determine the prevalence of limited health literacy in parents of infants born ≤32 and 0/7 weeks and if health literacy changes during hospitalization.

Study design

Multi-site, prospective cohort study measuring health literacy using the Parent Health Literacy Activities Test, which estimates caregivers’ ability to complete tasks such as reading prescription labels and preparing bottles. Data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric comparison tests and multivariable regression to control for confounders.

Result

Of the 137 participants, 31% missed ≥3 questions of 8. Scores were not associated with admission characteristics or NICU complications. Lower scores were associated with lower nurses’ (rho 0.20, p = 0.04) but not parents’ (rho −0.12, p = 0.22) ratings of discharge readiness. Scores improved slightly from admission to discharge (p = 0.049).

Conclusion

Many parents have difficulty answering questions related to basic infant care tasks. NICUs should ensure that communication and discharge planning are mindful of health literacy.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Laura Rubinos, Nicolas Bamat, Danielle Foy, Sagori Mukhopadhyay, Toni Mancini, and Danielle D. Weinberg for their contributions to patient recruitment and data analysis. We would like to thank Vincent C. Smith and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for allowing us to use their discharge readiness surveys. We would like to thank the Masters of Health Policy Research and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania for their support. The CHOP Neonatal Fellows’ Research Grant provided financial support for this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Elizabeth Enlow

  2. Division of Neonatology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Elizabeth Enlow

  3. Division of Neonatology, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA

    Megan M. Gray

  4. Department of Nursing, Christiana Hospital, Newark, DE, USA

    Sara Wallace-Keeshen

  5. Neonatal Follow-up Program, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Jo Ann D’Agostino

  6. CHOP Newborn Care at Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Soraya Abbasi

  7. Division of Neonatology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Scott A. Lorch

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  1. Elizabeth Enlow
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Enlow.

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Enlow, E., Gray, M.M., Wallace-Keeshen, S. et al. Health literacy of parents of very preterm infants at NICU admission and discharge: a prospective cohort study. J Perinatol 39, 866–875 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-019-0340-y

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