Abstract: Van Ee A, Van den Muijsenbergh METC. Supporting care for patients with low literacy skills. Huisarts Wet 2017;60(5):208-11. Introduction: Literacy skills are low in 11[%] of the general Dutch population, and in 30[%] of the immigrant population. In general, these individuals are less healthy, more often have chronic health problems, and have poorer health outcomes despite visiting the general practitioner more often. For this reason, it is important that GPs can identify these patients and adapt their communication style appropriately. We investigated to what extent GPs feel they are able to recognize patients with poor literacy skills and to communicate effectively with them, and whether existing tools and training are adequate and actually used. Method: A sample of 300 Dutch GPs were invited by email to complete an online questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics with SPSS version 22. Results: In total, 102 completed questionnaires were returned (response rate 34[%]). Overall, 35[%] of the GPs recorded low literacy in the electronic patient record, 43[%] were familiar with tools to support GPs caring for patients with low literacy skills, 74[%] had experienced problems communicating with these patients, and 80[%] would like more or more extensive training in communication with these patients. Of the GPs who knew about relevant tools, 50[%] expressed a need for extra support. Conclusion: Most GPs recognize that low literacy can be a problem and would like to invest more time and money, but they make relatively little use of existing tools and training approaches. Further research is needed to increase awareness of available tools and, if necessary, to investigate how to adapt them so that GPs make better use of them. © 2017, Bohn Stafleu van Loghum.
