Influence of Patient Literacy on the Effectiveness of a Primary Care–Based Diabetes Disease Management Program

ContextLow literacy is an important barrier for patients with diabetes, but interventions to address low literacy have not been well examined.ObjectiveTo examine the role of literacy on the effectiveness of a comprehensive disease management program for patients with diabetes.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsAnalysis of the influence of literacy on glycemic control and systolic blood pressure using data from a randomized controlled trial (conducted from February 2001 through April 2003) of a comprehensive diabetes management program. Participants were 217 patients aged 18 years or older with type 2 diabetes and poor glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c] levels ≥8.0%) and presenting to a US academic general internal medicine practice.InterventionsAll communication to patients was individualized and delivered to enhance comprehension among patients with low literacy. Intervention patients received intensive disease management from a multidisciplinary team. Control patients received an initial management session and continued with usual care.Main Outcome MeasuresAchievement of goal HbA1c levels and systolic blood pressure at 12-month follow-up for control and intervention patients stratified by literacy status.ResultsComplete 12-month data were available for 193 patients (89%). Among patients with low literacy, intervention patients were more likely than control patients to achieve goal HbA1c levels (≤7.0%) (42% vs 15%, respectively; adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3 to 17.2; P = .02). Patients with higher literacy had similar odds of achieving goal HbA1c levels regardless of intervention status (24% vs 23%; adjusted OR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.4 to 2.5; P = .98). Improvements in systolic blood pressure were similar by literacy status.ConclusionsLiteracy may be an important factor for predicting who will benefit from an intervention for diabetes management. A diabetes disease management program that addresses literacy may be particularly beneficial for patients with low literacy, and increasing access to such a program could help reduce health disparities.