Abstract
Background and aims: Health literacy (HL) can affect individual health, health communication and error in taking medicine. The aim of this study was to determine the level of HL and associated factors among Iranian adults. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 240 participants over 18 years of age referring to health centers in Hamadan, west of Iran in 2015 were selected by multistage random sampling. HL was assessed by the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA). The questionnaire was completed by a trained interviewer. The independent variables were structural and intermediate social factors based on the Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). Data were analyzed by using IBM SPSS version 22. Results: Average age of the participants was 30.88 ±7.38 years and 75.4% of the them were female. The total score of HL was 64.58 ±16.71 (range: 23.82-98.98). Overall, 31.7% (n=76) of the participants had adequate HL level, 32.5% (n=78) had borderline HL level and 35.8% (n=86) had inadequate HL level. Additionally, participants with higher educational levels had higher HL scores than those with lower educational levels (P<0.001). HL score was significantly higher in males than in females (P=0.017). Conclusion: HL level seems to be inadequate among Iranian adults in the west of Iran. Moreover, enhancing social determinants such as educational level seems to increase HL. The results highlighted the necessity for change and improvement in adults’ HL.
Highlights
Health literacy (HL) is the ability to access, understand, judge and use health information in order to make decisions in health situations.[1]
The adequate HL level was higher in women than in men, and people with high education level
The results of this study showed that HL score was low among our participants so that 68.3% of the participants had inadequate and borderline HL levels
Summary
Health literacy (HL) is the ability to access, understand, judge and use health information in order to make decisions in health situations.[1]. Poor HL is associated with poor health outcomes.[2,3] inadequate HL is associated with higher mortality rates, improper care, and increased health care costs.[4] A large proportion of medication errors occur due to insufficient individual health literacy. The aim of this study was to determine the level of HL and associated factors among Iranian adults. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 240 participants over 18 years of age referring to health centers in Hamadan, west of Iran in 2015 were selected by multistage random sampling. Results: Average age of the participants was 30.88 ±7.38 years and 75.4% of the them were female. Conclusion: HL level seems to be inadequate among Iranian adults in the west of Iran.
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