Health literacy and subjective illness perception in long-term prostate cancer survivors

Purpose Low health literacy (HL) impedes appropriate disease management. The objective of this analysis was to investigate among long-term prostate cancer (PCa) survivors following radical prostatectomy (RP). Methods HL was assessed using the the short version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaires (HLS-EU-Q16) and categorized as sufficient, problematic and inadequate. Socio-demographic, clinical, and psychological data were gathered, and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables associated with inadequate HL. Results Data from 2,326 PCa long-term survivors (mean age: 79.7 ± 6.5 years, mean time since RP: 18.2 ± 3.8 years) were analyzed. Inadequate HL was identified in 11.4%, and problematic HL in 29.8%. The most challenging aspect of HL was evaluating and applying information gathered from the media. Subjective disease severity (OR: 1.28 [95 % CI 1.04 – 1.57]), lower quality of life (OR: 0.49 [0.39 – 0.59]) and elevated anxiety (OR: 1.94 [1.37 – 2.68]) were associated with inadequate HL. Conclouisons In nearly half of long-term PCa survivors who have undergone radical prostatectomy a problematic or inadequate HL can be identified, which is primarily associated with psychological variables. Implications for Cancer Survivors Promoting health literacy and acknowledging the personal significance of the disease are essential to ensuring appropriate psychological and oncological follow-up care for men affected by prostate cancer.