Asthma Numeracy Skill and Health Literacy

By Andrea Apter, Jing Cheng, Dylan Small, Ian Bennett, Claire Albert,
Daniel Fein, Maureen George and Simone Van Horne

Abstract: To assess understanding of numerical concepts in asthma
self-management instructions, a 4-item questionnaire was developed and
read to 73 adults with persistent asthma.  Participants completed the
Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (STOFHLA).  12 (16%)
answered all numeracy items correctly; 6 (8%) answered none correctly.
Partipants were least likely to understand items involving risk and
percentages.  Low numeracy but not STOFHLA score was associated with a
history of hospitalization for asthma.  At higher STOFHLA levels there was
a wide range of the total number of correct numeracy responses.  Numeracy
is a unique and important component of health literacy.

Keywords: numeracy, health literacy, asthma, patient education,
communication.