Relationship Between Health Literacy, Reading Comprehension, and Risk for Sexually Transmitted Infections in Young Women

Needham, Heather E.; Wiemann, Constance M.; Tortolero, Susan R.; Chacko, Mariam R.

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.11.195

« PreviousJournal of Adolescent Health
Volume 46, Issue 5 , Pages 506-508, May 2010

Relationship Between Health Literacy, Reading Comprehension, and Risk for Sexually Transmitted Infections in Young Women

Heather E. Needham, M.D., M.P.H.
- Division of Adolescent Medicine and Sports Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
Constance M. Wiemann, Ph.D.
- Division of Adolescent Medicine and Sports Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
Susan R. Tortolero, Ph.D.
- Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, Texas
Mariam R. Chacko, M.D.
- Division of Adolescent Medicine and Sports Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
- Address correspondence to: Mariam Chacko, M.D., Division of Adolescent Medicine and Sports Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, 6621 Fannin Street, CC 1710.00, Houston, TX 77030.

Received 24 July 2009; accepted 9 November 2009. published online 12 January 2010.

Abstract

We investigated the relationship between health literacy, comprehension of sexually transmitted infection information, and sexual behavior in 127 women aged 16–21 years attending a reproductive health clinic. Women with lower health literacy scores demonstrated lower comprehension of written information related to sexually transmitted infections but did not have greater high-risk sexual behaviors.

Keywords: Sexually transmitted infection, Health literacy, Sexual behavior