Health Literacy, Social Support, and Health Status Among Older Adults

The study examines whether social support interacts with health literacy in affecting the health status of older adults. Health literacy is assessed using the short version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. Social support is measured with the Medical Outcome Study social support scale. Results show, unexpectedly, that rather than buffering the negative effect of low health literacy, social support has a more positive impact on physical health in older adults with high health literacy. Implications for improving the health status of older adults through health literacy and social support are discussed.