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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Gesundheitswesen 2023; 85(S 03): S183-S188
DOI: 10.1055/a-2130-2374
Originalarbeit

Associations of an Easy-to-Understand Patient Letter on the Health Literacy of Patients after Discharge from Hospital: Results of a Randomized Controlled Intervention Study

Article in several languages: English | deutsch
Henriette Hoffmann‡
1   Bereich Allgemeinmedizin/MK3, Medizinische Fakultät, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
Ansgar Jonietz‡
2   gGmbH, Was hab’ ich?, Dresden, Germany
,
Willy Gräfe
3   Bereich Allgemeinmedizin, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
Ronny Zenker
3   Bereich Allgemeinmedizin, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
Karen Voigt
3   Bereich Allgemeinmedizin, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
Henna Riemenschneider
3   Bereich Allgemeinmedizin, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
› Author Affiliations Fundings The project "More health literacy through patient letters" was funded by the Federal Ministry of Health based on a resolution of the German Bundestag (ZMVI5–2515FSB202).
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Abstract

Background 54% of the German population has limited health literacy, which is associated with poorer health outcomes and higher utilization of the healthcare system.

Aim of the study The aim of this pilot study was to examine the effects of an easy-to-understand patient letter on patients’ health literacy after discharge from a Clinic for Internal Medicine and to analyze patients’ need for written, easy-to-understand information.

Method In a randomized controlled trial (2016–2018), the effects of the patient letter on health literacy were examined by means of the HLS-EU-Q47 questionnaire. The intervention group (IG, n=242) received an easy-to-understand patient letter 3 days after discharge, the control group (KG, n=175) received only the usual medical discharge letter.

Results 60% of post-discharge patients were found to have limited health literacy. The study could not show any effect of patient letters on overall health literacy. The analysis of single items of health literacy showed positive effects of these letters on patients’ comprehension of medical advice as well as their understanding and implementation of medication instructions (Cohens d≥0.20). Furthermore, patients expressed their wish for information after discharge from hospital (99%) and rated the patient letter as informative, understandable and helpful.

Conclusions Patients wish to receive and are empowered by an easy-to-understand letter after discharge from hospital with medical information and medical instructions that they can implement at home.

Key Words

Health literacy - patient letter - hospitialization - discharge management - patient empowerment


Publication History

Article published online:
26 September 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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