By Kristine Houck
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Nearly one-third of patients who presented to an academic medical center with foot and ankle-related complaints lacked the necessary musculoskeletal heath literacy required to make informed decisions regarding their care, according to data presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Annual Meeting.
“Limited musculoskeletal literacy is a problem. In the general literature, it has been shown to be the most important factor in a patient’s health,” Jason Tartaglione, MD, said, here. 
Tartaglione and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study to identify the prevalence and risk factors for musculoskeletal health literacy in 56 patients with foot and ankle-related complaints who were 18 years old and older. The patients presented with foot and ankle-related complaints to the emergency department of an academic medical center. They completed a demographic survey, as well as the validated Literacy in Musculoskeletal Problems (LiMP) questionnaire during a preoperative office visit. Chi-squared analysis was used to assess the relationship between demographics and the musculoskeletal competency.
Tartaglione said LiMP scores greater than or equal to 6 were indicative of adequate musculoskeletal health literacy. The patients’ mean LiMP score was 5± 2.06, he said.