Predictors of health literacy among Deaf American Sign Language users.

Abstract

Health literacy is an important predictor of individuals' health, medical adherence, and health-related decision making. This study investigated the predictors of health literacy among Deaf American Sign Language (ASL) users. 408 Deaf ASL users and 445 Hearing English speakers were administered the Newest Vital Sign, a measure of health literacy available in both English and ASL, along with assessments of language proficiency and reading skills. Deaf participants had 3.7 times greater odds of inadequate health literacy (95 % CI: 2.7, 4.9) compared to their hearing counterparts. Binary logistic regression revealed that Deaf participants' ASL proficiency and English reading grade equivalent explained 34.2 % (Nagelkerke R²) of the variance in health literacy, χ²(2) = 101.520, p < .001. Among hearing participants, by contrast, English proficiency and English reading grade equivalent explained 47.8 % of the variance in health literacy, χ²(2) = 171.071, p < .001. Deaf people are at risk for having greater difficulty to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. Health professionals and health systems should allocate resources to mitigate health literacy barriers among Deaf people and make health information more available in ASL.