CN67 - Health literacy and self-management behaviours among prostate cancer survivors: A systematic review

Background

Over half of the general population in Europe have low health literacy. Lower health literacy is associated with poorer cancer self-management behaviours and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) among cancer survivors. Prostate cancer survivors experience complex treatment-related side-effects, yet, there is limited understanding of the effect of health literacy on self-management behaviours in this population. Therefore, this systematic review aims to synthesise the available research relating to the impact of health literacy on prostate cancer survivors' self-management behaviours and PROs.

Methods

A mixed methods systematic review was undertaken following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidance. MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO and Embase were systematically searched using keywords including health literacy, prostate cancer, self-management.

Results

10 studies met the inclusion criteria. One study reported that higher levels of health literacy was associated with higher skill in self-management behaviours. The majority of studies evaluated associations between health literacy and patient-reported outcomes, including quality of life, fear of progression, treatment regret, and self-efficacy for re-entry. Lower health literacy levels were associated with lower scores across these measures.

Conclusions

This study has identified limited evidence describing the impact of health literacy on self-management behaviours. Furthermore, self-management is frequently operationalised as PROs in this population. Cancer nurses have a critical role in supporting access, interpretation and utilisation of health information in the self-management of cancer-related effects. Therefore, health literacy assessment may be beneficial in supporting prostate cancer survivors to improve self-management skills.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Irish Research Council.

Disclosure

A. Drury: Other, Institutional, Board Member: European Oncology Nursing Society. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.