Health literacy in schizophrenia and depression

Abstract

Background and Aim: Health literacy is understudied in the mentally ill population, yet it is clear that a high level of health literacy is essential for successful management of illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression, both chronic conditions requiring self-monitoring skills and the management of multiple medications and specialist services. This exploratory study aimed to investigate and describe the state of health literacy in (1) a sample of people being treated for schizophrenia, recruited from community mental health services and in-patient wards and (2) a sample of private hospital outpatients with a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder. Methods: A total of 60 participants were recruited, 30 in the schizophrenia group and 30 in the depressed group. Results: Twenty nine people (97%) in the schizophrenia group and 28 (93%) in the depressed group had ‘ adequate ’ levels of health literacy as assessed with the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) [1]. The level of health literacy in our mentally ill participants was high and was comparable with that of the general public in the USA. Conclusions: Interestingly, our participants had much higher levels of health literacy than both normal and mentally ill subjects in the USA. The small sample size limited the strength and generalisability of the study ’ s fi ndings. Further research is needed to evaluate health literacy in people with mental illness in Australia, and well matched international comparison studies would be useful.