The DOI matches its Crossref record; 7 of the 7 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Patient education and health literacy
Abstract
Introduction Patient education is a relatively new science within the field of health care. In the past it consisted mainly of the transfer of knowledge and mostly biomedically based advice. Research has shown this to not be effective and sometimes counterproductive. As health care has moved away from applying a traditional paternalistic approach of 'doctor knows best' to a patient-centred care approach, patient education must be tailored to meet persons' individual needs. Purpose The purpose of this master paper is to increase awareness of patients' health literacy levels. Health literacy is linked to literacy and entails people's knowledge, motivation and competences to access, understand, appraise and apply health information in order to make judgements and take decisions in everyday life concerning health care, disease prevention and health promotion to maintain or improve quality of life during the life course. Many patients have low health literacy skills, and have difficulty with reading, writing, numeracy, communication, and, increasingly, the use of electronic technology, which impede access to and understanding of health care information. Implications Multiple professional organizations recommend using universal health literacy precautions to provide understandable and accessible information to all patients, regardless of their literacy or education levels. This includes avoiding medical jargon, breaking down information or instructions into small concrete steps, li…
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“patient characteristics, such as health literacy and disease awareness, affect how individuals can articulate their symptoms and understand treatment instructions, which directly impacts the diagnostic process [24,25].”
From Toward Safer Diagnoses: A SEIPS-Based Narrative Review of Diagnostic Errors (2026) · cites this paper as [24]
Citations
Cites
Low Health Literacy and Health Outcomes: An Updated Systematic Review
Berkman, N. D., Sheridan, S. L., Donahue, K. E., Halpern, D. J., & Crotty, K. (2011) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-155-2-201107190-00005 · Cited by 5,505
Self-management education: History, definition, outcomes, and mechanisms
Lorig, K. R., & Holman, H. R. (2003) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1207/s15324796abm2601_01 · Cited by 4,094
Houts, P. S., Doak, C. C., Doak, L. G., & Loscalzo, M. J. (2006) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2005.05.004 · Cited by 1,624
Fifteen Years of Explaining Pain: The Past, Present, and Future
Moseley, G. L., & Butler, D. S. (2015) · The Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2015.05.005 · Cited by 856 · cited 1×
“(Moseley and Butler, 2015) In our experience, however, low health literate people find this difficult to understand and will respond with “that’s all very well, but my pain is real” or “I don’t understand all this brain stuff”.”
BackgroundSynnott, A., O’Keeffe, M., Bunzli, S., Dankaerts, W., O'Sullivan, P., & O'Sullivan, K. (2015) · Journal of Physiotherapy · doi:10.1016/j.jphys.2015.02.016 · Cited by 412
The Enduring Impact of What Clinicians Say to People With Low Back Pain
Darlow, B., Dowell, A., Baxter, G. D., Mathieson, F., Perry, M., & Dean, S. (2013) · The Annals of Family Medicine · doi:10.1370/afm.1518 · Cited by 293
Geneen, L. J., Martin, D. J., Adams, N., Clarke, C., Dunbar, M., Jones, D., McNamee, P., Schofield, P., & Smith, B. H. (2015) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-015-0120-5 · Cited by 129
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 49
- Agarwal, 2013, Quality of patient education materials for rehabilitation after neurological surgery, NeuroRehabilitation, 32, 817, 10.3233/NRE-130905 · DOI
- Ainpradub, 2016, Effect of education on non-specific neck and low back pain: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, Man. Ther., 22, 31, 10.1016/j.math.2015.10.012 · DOI
- Aujoulat, 2008, Reconsidering patient empowerment in chronic illness: a critique of models of self-efficacy and bodily control, Soc. Sci. Med., 66, 1228, 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.11.034 · DOI
- Badarudeen, 2010, Assessing readability of patient education materials: current role in orthopaedics, Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res., 468, 2572, 10.1007/s11999-010-1380-y · DOI
- Bass, 2002, Residents' ability to identify patients with poor literacy skills, Acad. Med., 77, 1039, 10.1097/00001888-200210000-00021 · DOI
- Campbell, 2013, Prognostic indicators of low back pain in primary care: five-year prospective study, J. Pain, 14, 873, 10.1016/j.jpain.2013.03.013 · DOI
- Cutilli, 2009, Understanding the health literacy of America: results of the national assessment of adult literacy, Orthop. Nurs., 28, 24, 10.1097/01.NOR.0000345852.22122.d6 · DOI
- Daykin, 2004, Physiotherapists' pain beliefs and their influence on the management of patients with chronic low back pain, Spine, 29, 783, 10.1097/01.BRS.0000115135.19082.97 · DOI
- Delitto, 2012, Low back pain, J. Orthop. Sports Phys. Ther., 42, A1, 10.2519/jospt.2012.42.4.A1 · DOI
- Dibbelt, 2010, Patient-doctor interaction in rehabilitation: is there a relationship between perceived interaction quality and long term treatment results?, Rehabilitation, 49, 315, 10.1055/s-0030-1263119 · DOI
- Easton, 2013, How the stigma of low literacy can impair patient-professional spoken interactions and affect health: insights from a qualitative investigation, BMC Health Serv. Res., 13, 319, 10.1186/1472-6963-13-319 · DOI
- Eltorai, 2015, Most American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' online patient education material exceeds average patient reading level, Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res., 473, 1181, 10.1007/s11999-014-4071-2 · DOI
- Emilson, 2016, Physical therapists' assessments, analyses and use of behavior change techniques in initial consultations on musculoskeletal pain: direct observations in primary health care, BMC Muscoskel. Disord., 17, 316, 10.1186/s12891-016-1173-x · DOI
- Epstein, 2010, Why the nation needs a policy push on patient-centered health care, Health Aff., 29, 1489, 10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0888 · DOI · Paper page
- Foster, 2008, Illness perceptions of low back pain patients in primary care: what are they, do they change and are they associated with outcome?, Pain, 136, 177, 10.1016/j.pain.2007.12.007 · DOI
- Ganta, 2014, Readability of sports medicine-related patient education materials from the American academy of orthopaedic surgeons and the American orthopaedic society for Sports medicine, Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ), 43, E65
- Gardner, 2017, Physiotherapists’beliefs and attitudes influence clinical practice in chronic low back pain: a systematic review of qualitative and qualitative studies, J. Physiother., 63, 132, 10.1016/j.jphys.2017.05.017 · DOI
- Guilbert, 2000, Therapeutic patient education, Educ. Health, 13, 419
- Ha Dinh, 2016, The effectiveness of the teach-back method on adherence and self-management in health education for people with chronic disease: a systematic review, JBI Database Syst Rev Implement Reports, 14, 210, 10.11124/jbisrir-2016-2296 · DOI
- Hale, 2007, The common-sense model of self-regulation of health and illness: how can we use it to understand and respond to our patients' needs?, Rheumatology, 46, 904, 10.1093/rheumatology/kem060 · DOI
- Hendrick, 2012, Acute low back pain information online: an evaluation of quality, content accuracy and readability of related websites, Man. Ther., 17, 318, 10.1016/j.math.2012.02.019 · DOI
- Henschke, 2008, Prognosis in patients with recent onset low back pain in Australian primary care: inception cohort study, BMJ, 337, a171, 10.1136/bmj.a171 · DOI
- Hersh, 2015, Health literacy in primary care practice, Am. Fam. Physician, 92, 118
- Hoving, 2010, A history of patient education by health professionals in Europe and North America: from authority to shared decision making education, Patient Educ. Counsel., 78, 275, 10.1016/j.pec.2010.01.015 · DOI
- Iles, 2012, Patient recovery expectations in non-chronic non-specific low back pain: a qualitative investigation, J. Rehabil. Med., 44, 781, 10.2340/16501977-1019 · DOI
- Katz, 2006, Use of pictorial aids in medication instructions: a review of the literature, Am J Heal Pharm, 63, 2391, 10.2146/ajhp060162 · DOI
- Kelly, 2007, Physician overestimation of patient literacy: a potential source of health care disparities, Patient Educ. Counsel., 66, 119, 10.1016/j.pec.2006.10.007 · DOI
- Kleinman, 2006, Anthropology in the clinic: the problem of cultural competency and how to fix it, PLoS Med., 3, 1673, 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030294 · DOI · Paper page
- Laerum, 2006, What is “the good back-consultation”? A combined qualitative and quantitative study of chronic low back pain patients' interaction with and perceptions of consultations with specialists, J. Rehabil. Med., 38, 255, 10.1080/16501970600613461 · DOI
- Mackey, 2016, Self-management skills in chronic disease management: what role does health literacy have?, Med. Decis. Making, 36, 741, 10.1177/0272989X16638330 · DOI · Paper page
- Moss-Morris, 2007, Patients' perceptions of their pain condition across a multidisciplinary pain management program: do they change and if so does it matter?, Clin. J. Pain, 23, 558, 10.1097/AJP.0b013e318093fcab · DOI
- Newton, 2013, A narrative review of the impact of disbelief in chronic pain, Pain Manag. Nurs., 14, 161, 10.1016/j.pmn.2010.09.001 · DOI
- Nijs, 2013, Thinking beyond muscles and joints: therapists' and patients' attitudes and beliefs regarding chronic musculoskeletal pain are key to applying effective treatment, Man. Ther., 18, 96, 10.1016/j.math.2012.11.001 · DOI
- Nutbeam, 2000, Health literacy as a public goal: a challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century, Health Promot. Int., 15, 259, 10.1093/heapro/15.3.259 · DOI
- Oosterhof, 2014, Success or failure of chronic pain rehabilitation: the importance of good interaction - a qualitative study under patients and professionals, Disabil. Rehabil., 36, 1903, 10.3109/09638288.2014.881566 · DOI
- Parikh, 1996, Shame and health literacy: the unspoken connection, Patient Educ. Counsel., 27, 33, 10.1016/0738-3991(95)00787-3 · DOI
- Rogers, 2006, Misperceptions of medical understanding in low-literacy patients: implications for cancer prevention, Cancer Control, 13, 225, 10.1177/107327480601300311 · DOI
- Roussel, 2016, History taking by physiotherapists with low back pain patients: are illness perceptions addressed properly?, Disabil. Rehabil., 38, 1268, 10.3109/09638288.2015.1077530 · DOI
- Shah, 2015, Readability of orthopaedic oncology-related patient education materials available on the internet, J. Am. Acad. Orthop. Surg., 23, 783, 10.5435/JAAOS-D-15-00324 · DOI
- Siemonsma, 2008, The benefits of theory for clinical practice: cognitive treatment for chronic low back pain patients as an illustrative example, Disabil. Rehabil., 30, 1309, 10.1080/09638280701610254 · DOI
- Sorensen, 2012, Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions and models, BMC Publ. Health, 12, 80, 10.1186/1471-2458-12-80 · DOI
- Sorensen, 2015, Health literacy in Europe: comparative results of the European health literacy survey (HLS-EU), Eur. J. Publ. Health, 25, 1053, 10.1093/eurpub/ckv043 · DOI · Paper page
- Stenberg, 2014, “I am afraid to make the damage worse”–fear of engaging in physical activity among patients with neck or back pain–a gender perspective, Scand. J. Caring Sci., 28, 146, 10.1111/scs.12043 · DOI
- Stewart, 1979, The doctor/patient relationship and its effect upon outcome, J. Roy. Coll. Gen. Pract., 29, 77
- Straube, 2016, Back schools for the treatment of chronic low back pain: possibility of benefit but no convincing evidence after 47 years of research-systematic review and meta-analysis, Pain, 157, 2160, 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000640 · DOI
- Vives, 2009, Readability of spine-related patient education materials from subspecialty organization and spine practitioner websites, Spine, 34, 2826, 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181b4bb0c · DOI
- van Wilgen, 2014, Physical therapists should integrate illness perceptions in their assessment in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain; a qualitative analysis, Man. Ther., 19, 229, 10.1016/j.math.2013.11.006 · DOI
- Williams, 2002, The role of health literacy in patient-physician communication, Fam. Med., 34, 383
- Yu, 2016, Does structured patient education improve the recovery and clinical outcomes of patients with neck pain? A systematic review from the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration, Spine J., 16, 1524, 10.1016/j.spinee.2014.03.039 · DOI
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–200 of 212
Valencia, O. G. G., Thongprayoon, C., Miao, J., Craici, I., & Cheungpasitporn, W. (2026) · Frontiers Artif. Intell. · doi:10.3389/frai.2026.1806516 · Cited by 3
“The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) has reported that only 12% of U.S. adults demonstrate proficient health literacy, while approximately 22% have basic literacy, and 14% have below-basic health literacy (Magnani et al., 2018; Wittink and Oosterhaven, 2018).”
Białas, A., Barczyk, A., Damps-Konstańska, I., Kania, A., Kuziemski, K., Ledwoch, J., Rasławska, K., & Czajkowska-Malinowska, M. (2026) · Advances in Respiratory Medicine · doi:10.3390/arm94010004 · Cited by 3
“Break written instructions into smaller, concrete steps [20].”
Bridging gaps in medical education for digital healthcare: A Singapore case study
Zainal, H., Xin, X., Thumboo, J., & Yong, F.-K. (2025) · Asia Pacific Scholar · doi:10.29060/taps.2025-10-3/oa3439 · Cited by 3
Plain Language Summary: Surgical Management of Chronic Rhinosinusitis
Shin, J. J., Wilson, M. N., Ammon, K., Fuchs, J., Hensler, J. B., Lam, K. K., Akrami, Z., & Dhepyasuwan, N. (2025) · Otolaryngology · doi:10.1002/ohn.1288 · Cited by 3
“67 A great way for patients to learn about their health, surgery, any risks, and what they need to do after surgery is to watch videos and use other multimedia tools.”
Psychological empowerment in cancer patients: an integrative literature
Ren, S., & Liu, H. (2025) · Holistic Integrative Oncology · doi:10.1007/s44178-025-00158-4 · Cited by 5
“Unlike traditional patient education models that focus on healthcare providers or diseases [32], empowerment education equips patients with essential resources and support, including needs assessments, educational seminars, and dedicated interaction time with doctors [33].”
Evaluating Online YouTube Videos for Cervical Cancer Brachytherapy Patient Education
Keyes, S., Chai, B. S., & Ingledew, P. (2024) · Journal of Cancer Education · doi:10.1007/s13187-024-02546-2 · Cited by 3
“It is important patients be provided with educational resources that are clear and easy to understand [7, 9].”
Grbavac, V., Naletilić, M., & Šimić, J. (2024) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-024-06360-8 · Cited by 3
The undue influence of genetic information on senior medical students’ treatment decisions
Lane, A. S., Lynch, K. E., Arnold, M., Dar-Nimrod, I., Morandini, J. S., Gawronski, S. A., & Griffiths, P. E. (2023) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-023-04895-w · Cited by 3
“It has long been recognised that the provision of truthful and accurate information is necessary for patients to achieve sufficient health literacy beyond the merely functional level [37].”
BackgroundZhu, G., Wang, X.-J., Zhang, T., Zhao, W., & Ma, L. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0285744 · Cited by 3
Edmiston, E. A., Hardin, H. K., & Dolansky, M. A. (2023) · Clinical Nursing Research · doi:10.1177/10547738231173754 · Cited by 3
“Historically, nurses were trained to provide patient education on disease and self-management using knowledge-transfer resources (Wittink & Oosterhaven, 2018).”
BackgroundNwanaji-Enwerem, J., Smith-Wilkerson, M., Gordon, B., Okpere, H., Jones, T., Gizaw, R. S., & Husain, I. (2022) · Western Journal of Emergency Medicine · doi:10.5811/westjem.2022.10.57697 · Cited by 3
Fontenot, A., Holmes, S., Linquest, L., Alexander, S., & Mankekar, G. (2022) · Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery · doi:10.1007/s12070-022-03325-5 · Cited by 3
“Moreover, insufficient health literacy has been associated with more frequent use of the healthcare system, health disparities, and worse health outcomes [19].”
BackgroundMatthiesen, S. S. (2022) · International Journal of Nursing and Health Care Research · doi:10.29011/26889501.101349 · Cited by 4
“This finding is supported by several guidelines and recommendations for providing understandable information to all patients regardless of their level of health literacy [39, 61, 62].”
BackgroundDickson, K. S., Sklar, M., Chen, S. Z., & Kim, B. (2022) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-022-07748-2 · Cited by 3
“For clients, education can be used to promote health practices that support well-being [130, 131] and setting expectations regarding care transitions’ impact on health services use can help mitigate both patients’ and providers’ concerns surrounding transitioning to lower-intensity levels of care [132].”
BackgroundUnderstanding the Health Literacy in Patients With Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Pereira, L. V., Ercig, B., Kangro, K., Jamme, M., Malot, S., Galicier, L., Poullin, P., Provôt, F., Presne, C., Kanouni, T., et al. (2020) · HemaSphere · doi:10.1097/hs9.0000000000000462 · Cited by 3
Use of podcasts for health education: a scoping review
Amador, F. L. D., Alves, G. C. G., dos Santos, V. R., & Moreira, R. S. L. (2024) · Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem · doi:10.1590/0034-7167-2023-0096pt · Cited by 22
Dworsky-Fried, J., Mellon, M., Rathod, P., Yan, J., & Khan, M. (2026) · Annals of Joint · doi:10.21037/aoj-25-38 · Cited by 2
“The majority of patient education material is written at a level too complex, and it has been reported that most patients would find text with readability at a college level difficult to read or comprehend (46).”
Jiang, Y., Zhu, J., Lin, Y.-Y., Su, Z., Zhang, L.-B., Dong, Z., Song, Q., Fan, P., & Li, Z. (2025) · Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research · doi:10.1186/s13018-025-06451-2 · Cited by 2
Bracken, A., Rafferty, T., Barrett, R., Sheehan, E., Merghani, K., & Feeley, I. (2025) · European spine journal · doi:10.1007/s00586-025-09550-0 · Cited by 2
Bruin, N., Wittink, H., Oosterhaven, J., Hesselink, A., Hobbelen, H., & Lakke, S. E. (2025) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2025.108784 · Cited by 2
Self-citationAn examination of the poor correlation between symptoms and signs of dry eye disease
McMonnies, C. W. (2024) · Expert Review of Ophthalmology · doi:10.1080/17469899.2024.2373204 · Cited by 2
“Take-home information should be written at a level that is easily comprehended [22].”
Al-Kalaldeha, M. T., Al-Hameed, W., Al-Olime, S., Sabra, M. A. A., & Alreshidi, N. (2024) · International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.ijans.2024.100738 · Cited by 2
Hou, B. Q., Croft, A. J., Vaughan, W. E., Davidson, C. A., Pennings, J. S., Bowers, M. F., Vickery, J. W., Abtahi, A. M., Gardocki, R. J., Lugo-Pico, J. G., et al. (2024) · Spine · doi:10.1097/brs.0000000000004793 · Cited by 3
“47 Those with a more advanced level of health literacy, which can be developed through formal education, are able to critically analyze information, effectively self-manage, and make more informed decisions.”
BackgroundAdvancing pressure ulcer prevention: evaluating the impact of patient and lay carer education.
Phoong, K. Y., Hardacre, C., & Hill, J. (2023) · British Journal of Community Nursing · doi:10.12968/bjcn.2023.28.sup12.s8 · Cited by 2
The Use of Digital Annotation Tools in Improving Online Public Health Literacy among Youths
Azmuddin, R. A., Dom, T. N. M., Rani, H., Rahman, A. N. C. A., & Hamat, A. (2023) · GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies · doi:10.17576/gema-2023-2304-08 · Cited by 4
“Individuals who can understand and use the information for their health benefits have better health literacy (Wittink & Oosterhaven, 2018).”
BackgroundAdvice-giving skills in pre-registration physiotherapy training
Osborn-Jenkins, L., Day, E., Payne, H., White, R., & Roberts, L. (2023) · Physiotherapy Theory and Practice · doi:10.1080/09593985.2023.2247485 · Cited by 2
“This process uses the biopsychosocial model to actively listen to patients about their concerns and fears, while incorporating skills in managing medicines, behaviors, roles, and emotions, addressing health literacy, with simple language that patients can understand (Wittink and Oosterhaven, 2018).”
The quality of online information on Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease: can we do better?
Nassur, J. A., Samuel, L. T., Acuña, A., Ellsworth, B. K., & Kamath, A. (2023) · Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery · doi:10.1007/s00402-023-04974-z · Cited by 2
“In concordance with literature on health literacy, it is critical that web material be provided for patients at a sixth grade reading level or less [19].”
BackgroundFichtner, U., Arslanow, A., Binder, H., Galle, P., Labenz, C., Lammert, F., Ortner, J., Stelzer, D., Velthuis, L., & Farin-Glattacker, E. (2023) · Health Expectations · doi:10.1111/hex.13800 · Cited by 2
“5%) education (see Table 1) which is assumed to be associated with low health literacy.(28,29) The following four sections refer to the four research questions step by step.”
BackgroundMartin, R., Cartwright, J., & Bird, M. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20116013 · Cited by 2
“Similarly, physiotherapists are encouraged to embrace their roles in supporting clients’ HL and be responsive to HL during client education through avoiding medical jargon and using the teach-back cycle [6].”
Factors influencing patient understanding of information on radiology examinations
Brewer-Hofmann, A., Sajjad, S., Bekheet, Z., Moy, M., & Wong, T. (2023) · Skeletal Radiology · doi:10.1007/s00256-023-04301-y · Cited by 2
“Medical jargon is difficult to understand and often alienates patients from feeling involved in medical decision making [3].”
BackgroundDavid, A., Pereira, K., Hartman, E. S., Dear, G., Thompson, J. A., & Funk, E. M. (2023) · Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.jopan.2022.09.008 · Cited by 2
Pictogramas farmacéuticos: ¿una oportunidad para la Alfabetización en Salud?
Ferreira-Alfaya, F. J., & Romero, M. J. Z. (2022) · Ars Pharmaceutica · doi:10.30827/ars.v63i3.23979 · Cited by 2
“Para ejercer control sobre la salud se necesitan mensajes comprensibles adecuados a las necesidades individuales y a los antecedentes socioculturales(3) independientemente del nivel educativo(4,5).”
BackgroundPutra, R. S., & Mutmainnah, N. (2022) · Jurnal Komunikasi Ikatan Sarjana Komunikasi Indonesia · doi:10.25008/jkiski.v7i1.501 · Cited by 2
“Improving knowledge or literacy in health issues is significant to help users interpret data and to boost users’ motivation to perform physical activities (Wittink & Oosterhaven, 2018).”
BackgroundNappo, S., & Bigal, A. L. (2021) · Research, Society and Development · doi:10.33448/rsd-v10i11.19444 · Cited by 2
“Low schooling or even illiteracy hinders understanding a prescription that requires the help of a health professional to overcome this difficulty (Wittink and Oosterhaven, 2018).”
BackgroundJyoti, K., Gudhoor, M., & Ganachari, M. S. (2021) · Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice · doi:10.1177/1078155220988115 · Cited by 2
“Relatively, another new science in the field of health care is patient education.(10) It includes an array of knowledge, skills and capacities that one acquires through formal learning process.”
BackgroundO’Leary, S. P., Raymer, M. E., Window, P., Kelly, P. S., Lee, D., Garsden, L., Tweedy, R., Phillips, B., O’Sullivan, W., Wake, A., et al. (2020) · BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders · doi:10.1186/s12891-020-03839-5 · Cited by 5
Factors Associated with Health Literacy Competencies: Analysis of Thai Health Literacy Survey 2019Preprint
Khampang, R., Kloyiam, S., & Butchon, R. (2020) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-60016/v1 · Cited by 2
“For accessing, a person requires pro cient skills and knowledge to use technology to access resources (12).”
BackgroundExploring Pictorial Health Education Tools for Long-Term Home Care: A Qualitative Perspective
Lin, F.-S., Shi, H.-C., & Fang, K. (2020) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare8030205 · Cited by 2
“In the medical training process, the patient’s ability should be taken into account, as sometimes it is better to use pictures to illustrate the information to make it easier to understand and easy to apply at home without medical staff [14].”
BackgroundKuo, F.-L., & Tsai, T.-I. (2020) · International Conference on Asian Digital Libraries · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-64452-9_18 · Cited by 2
Napolitano, D., Bozzetti, M., Mora, V., Pastore, F., Caruso, R., Guberti, M., Amatucci, V., Lopetuso, L., Laterza, L., Scaldaferri, F., et al. (2026) · JGH Open · doi:10.1002/jgh3.70458 · Cited by 1
Hopes, M., Stubbs, P., Grimaldi, A., & Nasser, A. (2026) · Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy · doi:10.2519/jospt.2026.13666 · Cited by 1
Roland-McGowan, J., Ose, O., Yu, Y., Latour, E., Berry, E., Leachman, S., Carroll, B. T., & Yu, W. Y. (2026) · Journal of American Academy of Dermatology · doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2026.02.010 · Cited by 1
Association of Health Literacy With Survival in Patients With Lung Cancer
Meyers, P. M., Woodhouse, P., Bradley, E. M., Deppen, S. A., Khan, A., Lambright, E. S., Kripalani, S. B., Idrees, K., & Grogan, E. L. (2026) · CHEST Pulmonary · doi:10.1016/j.chpulm.2026.100241 · Cited by 1
“24,25 Incorporating health educators or patient navigators into care teams could address gaps in understanding and shared decision-making by guiding patients through complex systems and ensuring timely access to needed services.”
Damar, M., Pinto, A. D., Hosseini, B., da Trindade, T. G., Aydin, Ö., Erenay, F., & Cali, U. (2026) · Atención Primaria · doi:10.1016/j.aprim.2025.103441 · Cited by 1
Oliveira, A., da Cruz, M. M. A., Nascimento, G. D., Chagas, E. F. B., Garros, D. D. S. C., & Rocha, P. R. (2026) · Rehabilitación · doi:10.1016/j.rh.2025.100957 · Cited by 1
(2025) · physioscience · doi:10.1055/a-2618-6336 · Cited by 1
Health Literacy and Health Education in Veterinary Orthopedics and Physical Rehabilitation
Liuzzo, D. M., Levine, D. F., & Marcellin‐Little, D. J. (2025) · Advances in Small Animal Care · doi:10.1016/j.yasa.2025.06.002 · Cited by 1
Yu, S.-F., Kuo, P.-J., Lin, H.-C., & Yu, H.-T. (2025) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-025-13439-5 · Cited by 1
“Effective strategies include the adoption of universal HL precautions, the use of simplified language, the provision of clear and action-able steps for patients to follow, and the incorporation of visual aids that are suitable for all literacy levels [15, 55–58].”
What kind of information is requested by patients and families with genetic disorders?
Lee, S.-A., Park, S., So, M.-K., Chung, H., Kim, H. S., Kim, A., & Huh, J. (2025) · Journal of Community Genetics · doi:10.1007/s12687-025-00827-x · Cited by 1
“…patients and families either do not receive adequate information about genetic disorders or face challenges in understanding the information they are given, which exacerbates psychological burden and confusion (Lanie et al. 2004; Quinn et al. 2020; Wittink and Oosterhaven 2018; Haga et al. 2013).”
Developing a male-specific counselling curriculum for HIV treatment in Malawi
Mphande, M., Robson, I., Hubbard, J., Lungu, E., Chikuse, E., Phiri, K., Cornell, M., Phiri, S., Coates, T. J., & Dovel, K. L. (2025) · Gates Open Research · doi:10.12688/gatesopenres.16357.1 · Cited by 1
Roberts, J., Delaney, S., Mallows, A. J., & Neal, B. S. (2025) · BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders · doi:10.1186/s12891-025-08814-6 · Cited by 1
Dale, R., Cheng, M., Pines, K. C., & Currie, M. E. (2025) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2025.05.20.25328009 · Cited by 2
Zare, L., Nayeri, N. D., Bahramnezhad, F., & Rasti, A. (2025) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-093232 · Cited by 1
Is Functioning of Older Adults with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Related to Health Literacy?
Moriya, K. M., da Silva, V. C., Alonso, A. C., Montiel, J. M., & Zanca, G. G. (2025) · Experimental Aging Research · doi:10.1080/0361073x.2025.2470578 · Cited by 1
“Current recommendations for management of CMP include patient education about pain (Mackey et al., 2016) and health professionals should consider the potential inter-ferences of inadequate HL on that (Wittink & Oosterhaven, 2018).”
Behnam, F., Turkamani, S. R., Falavarjani, H. G., & Heydari, S. (2025) · Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran · doi:10.47176/mjiri.39.120 · Cited by 1
Skidmore, N., Ryan, C. G., Mankelow, J., & Martin, D. (2025) · Pain Research and Management · doi:10.1155/prm/5547227 · Cited by 2
“…increasing health-related knowledge but also a patient’s ability to obtain, appraise, and apply health information [9], warrants attention as poor health literacy issues are prevalent in people with persistent pain and are associated with poor self-management and long-term health outcomes [10–14].”
Celeste, J. (2024) · Birth · doi:10.1111/birt.12853 · Cited by 1
Physicians are Unable to Consistently Predict Patient Health Literacy in a Breast Clinic.
Turkheimer, L. M., Shen, C.-L., Leonard, M., Gooding, J., Kuron, M., & Showalter, S. (2024) · Journal of Surgical Research · doi:10.1016/j.jss.2024.06.019 · Cited by 1
Diffusion Models for Image Generation to Enhance Health Literacy
Woolsey, C. R., Miller, S., Kauchak, D., Harber, P., Rains, S., & Leroy, G. (2024) · IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics · doi:10.1109/ichi61247.2024.00047 · Cited by 1
“Historically, patients relied more heavily on medical professionals for information, but the increase in access to a range of information resources for patients has made it even more critical that sources are accessible [5].”
BackgroundAssessing the Effectiveness of Patient Education
Alvelo, F. A., Salahshor, S. M., & Beckley, J. S. (2024) · Physician Assistant Clinics · doi:10.1016/j.cpha.2024.05.010 · Cited by 1
ten Tusscher, M. R., Stuiver, M. M., Kampshoff, C. S., Huijsmans, R. J., Aaronson, N. K., Velthuis, M. J., Gal, R., van Waart, H., May, A. M., & Buffart, L. M. (2023) · European Journal of Cancer Care · doi:10.1155/2023/2296881 · Cited by 3
“Patients with insufcient mastery of the language may beneft from additional health communication strategies, such as including visual aids to improve reach [37, 38].”
Makaryus, A. N., Rosen, S. E., Kang, L., Shaw, L. J., Nash, B., Gajer, R., Coppolino, W., & Mieres, J. H. (2023) · American Journal of Health Promotion · doi:10.1177/08901171231192484 · Cited by 1
“14,27 These programs can augment national and local media campaigns already underway that are directed at the general public to increase awareness of cardiovascular risk factors.”
BackgroundWorking as a physiotherapist in a rapid response team: ‘An emotional rollercoaster’
Barrett, R., & Hebron, C. (2023) · Physiotherapy Theory and Practice · doi:10.1080/09593985.2023.2183100 · Cited by 1
Cai, H., Chen, H., Gao, Y., Huang, Q., Lv, C., Cang, X., Qi, J., Luo, K., & Jin, S. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-26649-2 · Cited by 1
Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia due to immunodeficiency
Samitinjay, A., Ramavath, A., Kulakarni, S. C., & Biswas, R. (2022) · BMJ Case Reports · doi:10.1136/bcr-2022-250074 · Cited by 1
Diniz, A. C. D. A. M., Bordalo, I., Ferreira, C. I. V., & Ramos, S. (2022) · Cadernos Ibero-americanos de Direito Sanitário · doi:10.17566/ciads.v11i3.917 · Cited by 1
Nash, C. (2022) · Histories · doi:10.20944/preprints202201.0420.v1 · Cited by 1
“…regarding mental health (Ebert et al. 2018); (2) patient education with respect to healthcare through the elimination of psychological jargon (Wittink and Oosterhaven 2018); (3) the adoption of a health approach to psychological interventions focused on psychoeducation (Horlings and Hein…”
BackgroundIt’s All Due to the Thyroid: Lessons Learnt From a Patient's Perspective
Schaab, K., Koritala, T., Adhikari, R., Singh, R., & Pattan, V. (2021) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.15876 · Cited by 1
“We identified factors that could act as communication barriers if not properly addressed which include: (1) patient’s prior medical knowledge, (2) patient’s own underlying fears about their health conditions, (3) use of effective patient education tools, (4) minimizing or avoiding use of medical jargon, (5) role switc…”
BackgroundStollenga, D., Preuper, H. R. S., Dijkstra, P., Boonstra, A., & Reneman, M. (2020) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09638288.2020.1800839 · Cited by 1
“The use of universal health literacy precautions to provide understandable and accessible information for all patients is recommended [28].”
BackgroundCOVID-19 Outbreak and Health literacy of Health Institutions: The Role of Strategic Theory
Alabadi, H. F., & Almomen, E. A. (2022) · Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology · doi:10.37506/ijfmt.v16i1.17555 · Cited by 1
“People with limited health knowledge often have low educational levels, are elderly, and immigrants who depend on various forms of Public Transfer Payments (10).”
BackgroundIshita, E., Pang, N., & Zhou, L. (2020) · International Conference on Asian Digital Libraries · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-64452-9 · Cited by 1
Dave, S., Binns, A. M., Viñuela-Navarro, V., & Callaghan, T. (2026) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2026-118134
“For example, information leaflets provided using too much medical jargon could reduce patient engagement, 68 while complex syntax could impact on understanding by patients with literacy problems 69 —a significant proportion of the population.”
Tüylü, A. N. A., & Çelikbilek, Y. (2026) · Journal of Evaluation In Clinical Practice · doi:10.1111/jep.70679
Brun, M. L., de Pinho, Q. G., Lagouanelle, M.-C., Ansel-Wallois, A., Camps, L., Diai, S., Kaplanski, G., Benyamine, A., & Granel, B. (2026) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2025-115738
“These could then become levers to improve the level of HL and reduce health inequalities for patients suffering from SSc.”
Manden, D., Pilmore, H., Manley, P., Petrie, K. J., & MacKrill, K. (2026) · PEC Global · doi:10.1016/j.pecglo.2026.100041
Elkefi, S., Yalamanchili, M., Feiner, S., & Matthews, A. (2026) · npj Health Systems · doi:10.1038/s44401-026-00129-5
“However, one-off consultations and printed educational materials may not be very accessible to patients with low health literacy and patients from different backgrounds 16,33,34 .”
Internet access and health literacy among African/Black Americans residing in rural Alabama
Shah, A., Lee, L. H., Lee, J., & Lee, H.-Y. (2026) · Health Education Journal · doi:10.1177/00178969261455725
“…not only improve individuals’ ability to interpret complex health information but also increase their confidence in navigating healthcare systems and digital health tools (Wittink and Oosterhaven, 2018), indicating a strong association between education and health literacy (Rashdi et al., 2025).”
Al-Rikaby, F. H. S., & Albayaty, M. (2026) · Iraqi journal of Medical Sciences · doi:10.22578/rtgktw24
“This ensures that patients receive the information in a way that is meaningful and comprehensible to them (35) .”
Harsono, A., Oslock, W. M., Brock, B., Hodges, S. C., Wood, L., Hernandez-Marquez, G. C., Abbas, A., Chu, D. I., & Rubyan, M. A. (2026) · Journal of Surgical Research · doi:10.1016/j.jss.2026.04.021
Huang, R., Liang, R., Guo, G., Tan, W., Zhuo, X., & Zhan, L. (2026) · Journal of Health Organization and Management · doi:10.1108/jhom-01-2026-0058
Koroma, M. I., Budhathoki, N., Inungu, J., Gurrala, J., Okike, V. O., Cyprian, D. T., Makireddy, R., Manwana, P. N., & Kainat, H. (2026) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-026-27617-5
“These mechanisms may enable adults with higher educational attainment to capitalize more effectively on healthcare encounters and to initiate preventive care without strong provider prompting [44, 45].”
Redd, A., Mayes, T., & Jacobs, M. M. (2026) · Family & Community Health · doi:10.1097/fch.0000000000000455
Ziegler, A., Walcott-George, K., Sullivan, A., Gailor, M., Kayler, L., & Tumiel-Berhalter, L. (2026) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare14101403
“These include concise visuals and plain-language scripts for explaining renal function and CKD to better reach patients with different learning styles and lower health literacy [66], as well as routine use of teach-back to confirm patient understanding [67].”
Bulla, M. C., Lavinsky, D., Rosa, A. A. M., & Carricondo, P. C. (2026) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/97408
Budihastuti, U., Melinawati, E., Prakosa, T., Laqif, A., Pangestu, M., Hadi, C., Nurwati, I., Dafhonsa, M., Jatiningtyas, A. Z., Alaydrus, S. T., et al. (2026) · Journal of Public Health Research · doi:10.1177/22799036261452469
“5 Reproductive healthcare is among the most commonly sought medical services worldwide.”
Ndagire, B., Naidoo, S., Barugahare, J., Mugerwa, J., & Rwenyonyi, C. (2026) · South African Dental Journal · doi:10.17159/sadj.v80i10.21455
“28, 30 This emphasizes the critical need for future research to diverse interventions for communicating complex information, such as the use of visual aids, leaflets, and measures for communicating complex concepts in digestible chunks 22-24 to improve patients’ understanding of the information…”
Fernandes, I., Forbes, R., & Caeiro, C. (2026) · European Journal of Physiotherapy · doi:10.1080/21679169.2026.2627255
Health uncertainty: Scale development and its effect on health behaviors
Ren, R., Tao, S., Ouyang, Y., & Du, W. (2026) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/13591053251405156
“Moreover, improving health literacy through public education (Nutbeam, 2000; Wittink and Oosterhaven, 2018) can help individuals better process health information and manage uncertainty, ultimately supporting both individual and collective health outcomes.”
Learning the hard way: the role of education in emergency department utilization amidst a pandemic
Alfano, V., & Scaletti, A. (2026) · Journal of Economic Studies · doi:10.1108/jes-06-2025-0451
Alesci, L., & Francetic, I. N. ;. (2026) · Journal of Migration and Health · doi:10.1016/j.jmh.2025.100388
“Greater education also typically translates into better awareness of healthcare options, preventive care and overall health management (Wittink and Oosterhaven, 2018).”
Wahle, C. F., Newman‐Hung, N. J., MEFFORD, M. R., Sridharan, M. J., Christ, A. B., Bernthal, N. M., Fufa, D. T., & Wessel, L. E. (2025) · Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons · doi:10.5435/jaaos-d-25-00822
The Response of the Infant to the Father's Voice in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Jasin, L. R., Newnam, K. M., Miller, J., Roberson, P. N. E., & Yohannan, M. (2025) · Advances in Neonatal Care · doi:10.1097/anc.0000000000001308
Bakht, R., Dolatian, M., Hajian, S., Zare, E., Montazeri, A., & Majd, H. A. (2025) · Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences · doi:10.5812/jnms-164894
Demiot, C., de Sousa, C., Labrunie, A., Danigo, A., Authier, D., Delavaud, J. M., Robert, P., & Rocher, M. (2025) · Journal Francais d'Ophtalmologie · doi:10.1016/j.jfo.2025.104666
Language Complexity Shapes Engagement with Orthopaedic Information on Social Media
Andalib, S., Spina, A. C., Picton, B., Thiagarajan, A., Solomon, S. S., Scolaro, J. A., & Nelson, A. M. (2025) · JB & JS open access · doi:10.2106/jbjs.oa.25.00174
“While unexpected, our study aligns with prior research suggesting that patients may prefer thorough explanations on social media, 31 highlighting the need to better understand how to balance accessibility with content depth when posting online 32 .”
Malekhoseini, M., Amiri, M. R., Agangari, S. A. H., & Vakilimofrad, H. (2025) · Avicenna journal of Care and Health in Operating Room · doi:10.34172/ajchor.106
“However, it is noteworthy that general literacy does not necessarily equate to health information literacy (15).”
Nkrumah, J., Atta-Doku, J. F., Nkrumah, R. B., & Ahenfo, E. A. (2025) · International Journal of Health Promotion and Education · doi:10.1080/14635240.2025.2549430
Yeeda, E., Tseng, W., Neuhauser, L., Ivey, S. L., Liu, J., Latham, L., Ta, M., & Robinson, L. A. (2025) · Journal - California Dental Association · doi:10.1080/19424396.2025.2532871
Zhao, X., Fan, C., & Chen, H.-F. (2025) · Retina · doi:10.1097/iae.0000000000004589
“29 Regarding income, the results showed a positive correlation between patients ’ income levels and their quality of life.”
Exploring health inequities in inflammatory bowel disease
Sorice, V. (2025) · Gastrointestinal Nursing · doi:10.12968/gasn.2025.0053
Metadata
- Authors
- Wittink, H., & Oosterhaven, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Wittink, H.
- Venue
- Musculoskeletal Science and Practice
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-12
- Volume
- 38
- Pages
- 120-127
- ISSN
- 2468-7812 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2810661566
- Cited by
- 267
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 35 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 18.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Musculoskeletal Science and Practice (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Cultural Competency in Health Care
- Keywords
- patient education, health literacy, patient-centered care, teach-back, health information understanding, health promotion, disease prevention, patient decision-making, health information access, visual aids, numeracy
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Education as Topic, Patient-Centered Care, Health Literacy
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review