An evaluation of the podiatrists’ communication skills with patients having limited health literacy

Abstract

Background Patients with limited health literacy are known to have difficulty understanding complex diseases, drug prescription instructions and engaging in treatment protocols. By incorporating the right communication skills, such as using simpler vocabulary, drawing explanatory diagrams and speaking slowly, podiatrists have the potential to help patients adhere to the prescribed treatment plan and improve heath outcomes. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the podiatrists’ communication skills with patients having limited health literacy. Method Seventy-three podiatrists from private and government sectors were invited to partake in the study, of whom 57 agreed to participate. The podiatrists answered a questionnaire called “Communication with low health literate patients” which was extracted from a research paper entitled "Challenges and Solutions in communication with patients with low health literacy: Perspectives of healthcare providers" by Murugesu et al., (2022). The questions in the questionnaire utilised in this study were mainly quantitative in nature, with a few qualitative questions. The participants were prompted to answer the questionnaire accordingly, on-site at the participants' workplace during their preferred time. The questionnaire was administered only once and took approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Results The results revealed that a number of podiatrists did not exhibit adequate communication skills when interacting with patients having low health literacy. Furthermore, podiatrists encountered a plethora of patients with limited health literacy on a weekly basis, thereby presenting diverse challenges for podiatrists. Additionally, this study has also highlighted the podiatrist’s disuse of methods such as the teach-back method and tools such as visual aids that are needed to improve podiatrists' communication skills with patients having limited health literacy. Furthermore, podiatrists requested the need for such tools to improve their communication with limited health literate patients. Another crucial finding from this study was that podiatrists often cited time constraints as the primary reason for not implementing appropriate communication skills when communicating with limited health literacy patients. Conclusion This study concluded that although a significant number of limited health literacy patients visit the podiatry clinic daily, a percentage of podiatrists do not always adapt their communication skills to such circumstances, and do not frequently use materials such as visual aids to address the patient's lack of health literacy. Moreover, this highlights the need for the introduction of a health literacy training program to educate podiatrists on the necessary communication methods when dealing with such patients.