Table 1.
Demographic characteristics of participating (A) patients, and (B) caregivers
| (A) Patients | |
| Characteristic | Frequency (%) n=23 |
| Female | 13 (57) |
| Age (years) | |
| 65–74 | 0 |
| 75–84 | 8 (35) |
| 85 and more | 15 (65) |
| Education | |
| No education | 0 |
| Elementary | 5 (22) |
| High school | 11 (48) |
| College | 2 (8.7) |
| University | 5 (22) |
| Income (US$) | |
| 0–24 999 | 12 (52) |
| 25 000–34 999 | 6 (26) |
| 35 000–49 999 | 1 (4.3) |
| 50 000–74 999 | 3 (13) |
| 75 000–99 999 | 1 (4.3) |
| 100 000–150 000 | 0 (0) |
| 150 000+ | 0 (0) |
| Health literacy | |
| Self-reported frequency of having someone helping read medical materials | |
| (0) Never | 7 (30) |
| (1) Occasionally | 4 (17) |
| (2) Sometimes | 4 (17) |
| (3) Often | 4 (17) |
| (4) Always | 4 (17) |
| Mean (±SD) | 1.7 (±1.5) |
| Self-reported confidence with forms | |
| (0) Extremely | 4 (17) |
| (1) Quite a bit | 4 (17) |
| (2) Somewhat | 3 (13) |
| (3) A little bit | 3 (13) |
| (4) Not at all | 9 (39) |
| Mean (±SD) | 2.4 (±1.6) |
| Self-reported problems learning about medical condition because of difficulty reading medical materials | |
| (0) Never | 5 (22) |
| (1) Occasionally | 7 (30) |
| (2) Sometimes | 2 (8.7) |
| (3) Often | 4 (17) |
| (4) Always | 5 (22) |
| Mean (±SD) | 1.9 (±1.5) |
| Marital status | |
| Single | 1 (4.4) |
| Married or common-law partner | 11 (48) |
| Widow | 11 (48) |
| Separated | 0 (0) |
| Divorced | 0 (0) |
| Living with caregiver, n (%) | 11 (48) |
| (B) Caregivers | |
| Characteristic | Frequency (%) n=27 |
| Female | 15 (56) |
| Age (years) | |
| 24 and less | 0 (0.0) |
| 25–44 | 0 (0.0) |
| 45–64 | 13 (48) |
| 65–84 | 11 (41) |
| 85+ | 3 (11) |
| Education | |
| No education | 0 (0.0) |
| Elementary | 2 (7.4) |
| High school | 8 (30) |
| College | 9 (33) |
| University | 8 (30) |
| Self-reported frequency of having someone helping read medical materials | |
| (0) Never | 16 (59) |
| (1) Occasionally | 4 (15) |
| (2) Sometimes | 5 (19) |
| (3) Often | 2 (7) |
| (4) Always | 0 (0.0) |
| Mean (±SD) | 0.7 (±1.0) |
| Self-reported confidence with forms | |
| (0) Extremely | 16 (59) |
| (1) Quite a bit | 8 (30) |
| (2) Somewhat | 1 (4) |
| (3) A little bit | 0 (0.0) |
| (4) Not at all | 2 (7) |
| Mean (±SD) | 0.7 (±1.1) |
| Self-reported problems learning about medical condition because of difficulty reading medical materials | |
| (0) Never | 9 (33) |
| (1) Occasionally | 10 (37) |
| (2) Sometimes | 6 (22) |
| (3) Often | 0 (0.0) |
| (4) Always | 2 (7) |
| Mean (±SD) | 1.11 (±1.1) |
| Relationship with the patient | |
| Family member | 26 (96) |
| Friend | 1 (4) |
| Professional | 0 (0.0) |
| Other | 0 (0.0) |
| Approximate number of years in the care of the patient, mean (±SD) | 10.3 (±14) |