(Birmingham, Alabama, January 19, 2026) — Low health literacy significantly hinders effective care for gastrointestinal cancer patients throughout their surgical journey, according to a new study published in Anesthesiology. The research, conducted in the Deep South, reveals challenges patients face from initial diagnosis through postoperative recovery, exacerbating existing healthcare disparities.
A new study highlights how limited health literacy impacts gastrointestinal cancer patients’ understanding of treatment and recovery, leading to poorer outcomes.
- Approximately one-third of gastrointestinal cancer patients in the study had insufficient health literacy, and over half were at the borderline level.
- Patients with low health literacy experienced delays in seeking care, struggled to understand diagnoses and insurance information, and had difficulty following post-operative instructions.
- Visual aids and the “teach-back” method – where patients reiterate instructions – were identified as effective strategies to improve understanding.
- The study underscores the need for health literacy-sensitive patient education and improved communication between medical teams and patients.
Barriers to Care Across the Surgical Journey
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The study, which involved interviews with 36 gastrointestinal cancer patients and 32 medical providers (including 15 surgeons), identified obstacles at every stage of treatment. Researchers found that 33.3% of patients had insufficient health literacy, while 55.6% were classified as having borderline health literacy levels. These deficits manifested in several ways, according to the research.
In the preoperative phase, patients with low health literacy delayed seeking medical attention because they failed to recognize symptoms, such as difficulty swallowing. They also struggled to understand their cancer diagnosis and pathology reports, often relying on potentially inaccurate information found online. Administrative tasks, like completing forms and coordinating medical records, also presented significant hurdles, as did understanding insurance terms like deductibles. “After 30 minutes of communication, they may not understand what I said at all,” one surgeon noted.
During the intraoperative phase, patients lacked a clear understanding of their treatment plans and sometimes held misconceptions, such as believing “exposure to air during surgery will cause cancer to spread.” This lack of understanding led some to refuse recommended adjuvant treatments, like regional anesthesia blocks. Postoperatively, patients deviated from prescribed self-care routines, such as bowel preparation and drainage tube maintenance.
Postoperative Complications and Follow-Up
The study also revealed challenges in managing complications after surgery. Patients with low health literacy often struggled to accurately describe the severity of symptoms like incision effusion or fever. This necessitated more frequent follow-up appointments to prevent patients from being lost to follow-up care. Researchers noted that medical teams were proactively scheduling earlier follow-up appointments for these patients.
One patient shared that a doctor “drew a schematic diagram of the operation with pen and paper, allowing me to clearly understand the entire treatment process.”
Why It Matters
This research is the first systematic investigation into the impact of health literacy on the entire surgical treatment process for gastrointestinal cancers. The findings highlight how low health literacy isn’t simply a matter of understanding medical jargon; it actively exacerbates existing healthcare disparities through administrative barriers, delayed diagnoses, and reduced treatment adherence. The study’s emphasis on the effectiveness of visual aids and the teach-back method offers practical strategies for improving patient care. Healthcare providers recommend integrating health literacy training into continuing education and developing standardized educational materials to support clinical work. These measures have important implications for improving the quality of cancer care, particularly in underserved regions like the Deep South.
Time.news based this report on research published in Anesthesiology and added independent analysis and context.
