<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><xml><records><record><source-app name="HighWire" version="7.x">Drupal-HighWire</source-app><ref-type name="Journal Article">17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Buchbinder, Rachelle</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Hall, Stephen</style></author><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Youd, Joanne M</style></author></authors><secondary-authors></secondary-authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Functional health literacy of patients with rheumatoid arthritis attending a community-based rheumatology practice.</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">The Journal of Rheumatology</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2006</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2006-05-01 00:00:00</style></date></pub-dates></dates><pages><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">879-886</style></pages><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">33</style></volume><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">5</style></issue><abstract><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">OBJECTIVE: To determine the health literacy of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) attending community-based rheumatology practice. METHODS: Eighty patients were administered the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA), a 50-item reading comprehension and 17-item numerical ability test (score 0-100); the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), which asks participants to read aloud 66 words of varying difficulty (score 0-66); and the Test of Reading Comprehension (TORCH), which asks participants to read a short text and then fill in the gaps of another version by using one or more of their own words (score 1-9). RESULTS: The study group included 60 women (75%), mean age (SD) 60.29 (15.02) years, median duration of RA 8 years (range 0.3-39). Nineteen of 80 (24%) had completed &lt;or= 8 years of formal education, 24/80 (30%) had completed 9 or 10 years, and 37/80 (46%) had completed &gt;or= 11 years. TOFHLA and REALM scores ranged from 39-100 and 41-66 respectively. Scores for 8 patients (10%) indicated they would have difficulty reading and interpreting health texts and struggle with most currently available patient education materials. Of those who attempted the TORCH, 8/65 (12%) scored low or below average and 23/65 (35%) scored average compared with students completing 9th grade. All 3 literacy tests were significantly correlated with education level, but use of educational level alone as a measure of literacy would have misclassified more than 10% as health literate/illiterate. CONCLUSION: A significant number of patients with RA have limited health literacy and may not understand even simple written instructions or prescription labels.</style></abstract></record></records></xml>