Determining Health Literacy Level and Its Related Factors Among Pregnant Women Referred to Medical and Health Centers of Tehran in 2019: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The ability to acquire, process, and understand health information to make informed decisions about health is defined as health literacy. A low level of health literacy disrupts women’s ability to understand and use health information in order to take appropriate and timely measures during pregnancy. Objectives: Due to the importance of health literacy during pregnancy and its direct impact on fetal health, this study was conducted to determine the level of health literacy and its related items among the pregnant women referred to medical and health centers in Tehran. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 270 pregnant women referred to the medical and health centers of Tehran in 2019. The participants in this study were selected by the mixed sampling method (cluster and random methods to select health centers and the convenience method to select participants). Data collection tools included a questionnaire for demographic and midwifery characteristics and a specialized questionnaire for maternal health literacy in pregnancy (MHELIP). Data analysis was performed by SPSS-19 software. Results: The mean age of the participants was 28.16 ± 5.70 years, and the mean gestational age was 24.50 ± 9.25 weeks. The mean score of health literacy among pregnant women was 63.14 ± 9.63, and 48.9% of them had limited (inadequate and insufficient) health literacy. The results showed positive correlations between the total score of health literacy and the demographic variables of age (P = 0.025), education (P = 0.003), and income (0.008), but no significant relationship was found between the mean total score of health literacy and employment status (P = 0.614) or parity (P = 0.614). Conclusions: It was found that limited health literacy had a high prevalence among pregnant women. Given the importance of pregnancy, it seems necessary for healthcare policymakers to design programs to promote women’s health literacy during pregnancy.