40. The Role of Health Literacy in Vaccination Disparities: Do Patients Understand the Health Messages?

Abstract

Background Numerous public health campaigns are organized with the goal of improving immunization rates. However, vaccination uptake remains low among certain racial/ethnic minority groups including Hispanic patients. The level of health literacy (HL), ability to recognize the words used, may impact patients’ understanding of health-related messages and consequently health behavior and vaccination. Methods We conducted a HL survey among adult female attendees of a health fair in an underserved area of Los Angeles. Attendees visiting a youth education booth were surveyed using an electronic tool. Respondents were surveyed on their familiarity with and recognition of specific words including: measles, shingles, pertussis, hepatitis, meningitis, stroke, diabetes, pneumonia, and human papilloma virus (HPV). Comparisons were analyzed using chi-squared tests. Results Forty-three women (n=28 Hispanic; n=15 Non-Hispanic) completed the survey. The mean ages of Hispanic and non-Hispanic (predominantly Caucasian and Asian) respondents were 35.4 ±14 years and 29.9 ±12 years, respectively. A significantly lower percentage of Hispanic vs. Non-Hispanic women reported recognition of words associated with vaccine-preventable diseases: “meningitis” (15% vs. 60%, p< .01), “hepatitis” (18% vs. 69%, p< .01), and “HPV” (33% vs 67%, p< .05). Substantially lower recognition was also reported for “pneumonia”, although this did not reach statistical significance (46% vs 77%, p=.06). The percentage reporting recognition of “diabetes” did not differ significantly between groups (68% vs 60%, p=0.43). Conclusion Immunization campaigns often use words that patients may not understand, potentially impacting patients’ relationship with the healthcare system and health behavior change. We found a lower level of recognition (health literacy) of words associated with vaccine-preventable diseases among Hispanic vs. Non-Hispanic women attending a community health fair. These findings have implications for developing culturally-tailored communication tools and educational strategies using a language easily recognized by a specific community to help reduce racial disparities in vaccination uptake. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

The Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Meningococcal Vaccination Awareness, Delivery, and Coverage in Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States: A Systematic Review

“…Among those who had not vaccinated their adolescent, 60% reported that they would have their adolescent vaccinated with Tdap or MenACWY if their doctor had recommended vaccination [ 54 ]. In addition to these studies, Kricorian et al [ 55 ] conducted a health literacy survey among 43 adult females (Hispanic (n = 28) and non-Hispanic (n = 15)) attending a health fair in an underserved area of Los Angeles, California. Results showed a significantly lower percentage of Hispanic versus non-Hispanic women reporting recognition of the word “meningitis” (15% vs. 60%, p < 0.01) [ 55 ].…”

“…In addition to these studies, Kricorian et al [ 55 ] conducted a health literacy survey among 43 adult females (Hispanic (n = 28) and non-Hispanic (n = 15)) attending a health fair in an underserved area of Los Angeles, California. Results showed a significantly lower percentage of Hispanic versus non-Hispanic women reporting recognition of the word “meningitis” (15% vs. 60%, p < 0.01) [ 55 ].…”