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- Title
Examining the impacts of health literacy on healthcare costs. An evidence synthesis.
- Authors
Palumbo, Rocco
- Abstract
Scholars and practitioners share a significant concern about rising healthcare costs. Health literacy is widely presented as a solution to this momentous issue, paving the way for a more appropriate access to care and therefore, for cost savings. However, to date little is still known about the ultimate effects of better health literacy on healthcare costs. Drawing from the findings of a systematic literature review which ultimately involved 29 papers retrieved from Scopus-Elsevier and PubMed. This manuscript is aimed at shedding light on the relationship between health literacy and healthcare costs. The inadequate ability of patients to understand health information and to navigate the healthcare system was found to be an important predictor of inappropriateness in the access to health care. In addition, people living with problematic health literacy are discouraged to be engaged in the provision of health services and are expected to show poor self-efficacy in dealing with their health-related conditions. From this point of view, poor health literate patients are assumed to be at high risk of exacerbation of their health problems, which in turn contributes in rising healthcare costs. In spite of these findings, both policy makers and practitioners seem to overlook the importance of health literacy. Eventually, the joint intervention on laws, policies, organizational strategies, and practices is crucial to handle the challenges related to limited health literacy.
- Subjects
HEALTH services accessibility; MEDICAL care; MEDICAL care costs; MEDLINE; ONLINE information services; SELF-efficacy; SYSTEMATIC reviews; HEALTH literacy; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics
- Publication
Health Services Management Research, 2017, Vol 30, Issue 4, p197
- ISSN
0951-4848
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/0951484817733366