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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 25(4)

Health literacy after traumatic brain injury: characterisation and control comparison

Amelia J. Hicks https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1152-0576 A * , Angelle M. Sander B C , Dean P. McKenzie D E , Sarah Carrier A , Elinor Fraser A , Bronwyn Hall A , Monique R. Pappadis B F and Jennie L. Ponsford A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

B Brain Injury Research Center, TIRR Memorial Hermann, Houston, TX, USA.

C H. Ben Taub Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.

D Research Development and Governance Unit, Epworth HealthCare, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

E Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.

F Department of Population Health and Health Disparities, School of Public and Population Health, and the Sealy Center on Aging, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, TX, USA.

* Correspondence to: ameliajhicks@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Jenny Fleming

Brain Impairment 25, IB23116 https://doi.org/10.1071/IB23116
Submitted: 23 October 2023  Accepted: 9 September 2024  Published: 1 October 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Little is known about health literacy in traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors. The aims of this study were to compare health literacy in individuals with TBI with that of a control group; to examine the association between health literacy in individuals with TBI and demographic, injury, and cognitive factors; and compare the relationship between health literacy and physical and mental health outcomes.

Methods

A cross-sectional observational study design was used. Adults (≥18 years) were recruited from an outpatient research centre in Victoria, Australia. There were 209 participants with a complicated mild to severe TBI at least 1 year previously (up to 30 years 6 months) and 206 control participants.

Results

Individuals with TBI did not have poorer health literacy than controls (IRR = 1.31, P = 0.102, CI95% [0.947, 1.812]). Further analysis could not be completed due to the highly skewed Health Literacy Assessment Using Talking Touchscreen Technology – Short Form (Health LiTT-SF) data.

Conclusion

Health literacy performance in individuals with TBI was not significantly different to controls. Premorbid education may provide a critical cognitive reserve upon which TBI survivors can draw to aid their health literacy. These findings are specific to the Health LiTT-SF measure only and require replication using more comprehensive health literacy measures in culturally diverse samples.

Keywords: control comparison, health literacy, Health Literacy Assessment Using Talking Touchscreen Technology – Short Form, Health LiTT-SF, long term outcomes, null findings, outcomes, TBI, traumatic brain injury.

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