How Do Variations in Health Literacy Affect Preventive Care Usage in the United States?

Preventive care is a subset of healthcare that deals with proactive treatment in order to thwart the onset of disease in the future. Research has shown that preventive care significantly reduces population morbidity and mortality. Preventive care is also important because it can affect a wide scope of individuals with a fraction of the cost of normal medical care; in this way it supports the triple aim of increasing quality and access while reducing costs. Health literacy is the ability of an individual to process health information and make positive, informed health decisions. Health literacy is a relatively new field of study. This paper aims to explore how health literacy affects preventive care usage. In order to do so, this paper uses Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data from 2006-2013. Health literacy is indexed from demographic factors including age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, income, language spoken, and rurality. Following probit regression analysis of health literacy and multiple preventive care indicators, I found that lower health literacy individuals underutilize most preventive care measures such as dental exams, PSA tests, Pap smears, and mammograms. Yet, I also found that higher health literacy individuals underutilize some preventive care measures such as receiving an annual wellness check, having a cholesterol screening, and having an annual flu shot.