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Cross-Sectional Assessment of Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Patient Knowledge

Background: Individuals with limited health literacy often struggle in effectively communicating with their physicians and may lack the skills needed to make informed health decisions. It is therefore important that providers have insight into patients’ baseline medical knowledge, as this can help physicians customize their approach to, and conversations with, each patient. As such, this study evaluated the foot and ankle–specific knowledge of patients seeking care for various foot and ankle ailments. Methods: An unvalidated survey developed by our study group was distributed to 206 patients, assessing their knowledge of foot and ankle anatomy, terminology, conditions, treatment, and perioperative issues. Performance was evaluated as a function of participants’ demographic factors. Results: Participants performed significantly worse on the conditions and treatment questions as compared to the anatomy, terminology, and perioperative considerations subsections. Significantly better performance correlated with education (≥college), visit type (preoperative evaluation), a current or previous health care occupation, and prior orthopedic surgeon evaluation. Conclusions: Patients’ knowledge of foot and ankle anatomy, terminology, conditions, treatment, and perioperative issues correlates with certain patient characteristics and demographics. With enhanced insight into the risk factors for limited knowledge, education campaigns can be designed to target those most in need.