TY - JOUR
T1 - Motivation for a health-literate health care system-does socioeconomic status play a substantial role? implications for an irish health policymaker
AU - Coughlan, Diarmuid
AU - Turner, Brian
AU - Trujillo, Antonio
N1 - Funding Information:
© Diarmuid Coughlan, Brian Turner, and Antonio Trujillo Financial support for this study was provided by a Health Economics Fellowship in Cancer Prevention co-sponsored by the National Cancer Institute of the United States and the Health Research Board of Ireland. The authors thank Carol Thompson, Department of Biostatistics, and Professor Kevin Frick, Department of Health Policy & Management, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, for help in assembling the data. The authors also thank Brendan Walsh, Department of Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway, for advice on STATA programming and analyses.
PY - 2013/12/4
Y1 - 2013/12/4
N2 - In this article, the authors argue that the association between socioeconomic status and motivation for a health-literate health care system has implications for health policymakers. As Ireland now undergoes health care reform, the authors pose the question, "Should policymakers invest in health literacy as predominately a health inequalities or a public health issue?" Data from 2 cohorts of the Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition (1998 and 2002) were used to construct a motivation for a health-literate health care system variable. Multivariate logistic regressions and concentration curves were used in the analyses of this variable. Of the 12,513 pooled respondents, 46% sought at least 1 attribute on a health-literate health care system. No discernible trend emerged from the main independent variables-social class grouping, medical card eligibility, level of education, and employment-in the regression analyses. The concentration curve, for 2002 data, graphically showed that the motivation for a health-literate health care system is spread equally across the income distribution. This analysis and more recent data suggest that health literacy in Ireland should be viewed predominately as a public health issue with a policy focus at a system level.
AB - In this article, the authors argue that the association between socioeconomic status and motivation for a health-literate health care system has implications for health policymakers. As Ireland now undergoes health care reform, the authors pose the question, "Should policymakers invest in health literacy as predominately a health inequalities or a public health issue?" Data from 2 cohorts of the Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition (1998 and 2002) were used to construct a motivation for a health-literate health care system variable. Multivariate logistic regressions and concentration curves were used in the analyses of this variable. Of the 12,513 pooled respondents, 46% sought at least 1 attribute on a health-literate health care system. No discernible trend emerged from the main independent variables-social class grouping, medical card eligibility, level of education, and employment-in the regression analyses. The concentration curve, for 2002 data, graphically showed that the motivation for a health-literate health care system is spread equally across the income distribution. This analysis and more recent data suggest that health literacy in Ireland should be viewed predominately as a public health issue with a policy focus at a system level.
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U2 - 10.1080/10810730.2013.825674
DO - 10.1080/10810730.2013.825674
M3 - Article
C2 - 24093353
AN - SCOPUS:84885675801
SN - 1081-0730
VL - 18
SP - 158
EP - 171
JO - Journal of health communication
JF - Journal of health communication
IS - SUPPL. 1
ER -