Comparison of health literacy profile of patients with end stage kidney disease on dialysis versus non-dialysis chronic kidney disease and the influencing factors: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: Lower health literacy (HL) is associated with poor outcomes in patients with kidney disease. Since HL matches the patient’s competencies with the complexities of the care package, the level of HL sufficient in earlier stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be inadequate for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients on dialysis. We aimed to analyse the HL profile of ESKD and non-dialysis CKD patients and examine if there were significant associations with covariates which could be targeted to address HL deficits, thereby improving patient outcomes.

Design and setting: Cross-sectional study of CKD and ESKD patients from a single Australian health district.

Methods: We assessed the HL profile of 114 CKD and 109 ESKD patients using a 44-item multi-domain HL Questionnaire (HLQ) and examined its association with demographic factors (age, gender, race), smoking, income, education, comorbidities, carer status, cognitive function and depression. Using multi-variable logistic...