The Relationship Between Health Literacy and Quality of Life, Attitudes and Perceptions of Covid-19 and Vaccination Among Patients with Systemic Autoimmune Diseases.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate health literacy in patients (n=395) with systemic autoimmune diseases (SAD) and analyze their relationships with health-related quality of life (HRQoL), attitudes and beliefs about Covid-19 and vaccination, and perceptions of changes in medical care during the pandemic. This study was cross-sectional and the majority (81%) of particpants resided in Spain. An anonymous online survey was distributed to an online SAD association. Health literacy was measured using the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16) and the SF-36 tool was used to assess HRQoL. More than half of patients (57.7%) have inadequate health literacy and the mean health literacy level was 9.63(5.66). Patients with inadequate health literacy levels presented the lowest HRQoL scores in all SF-36 domains (p < .001). Health literacy scores were positively correlated with all SF-36 domains (p < .001). The reservations to get vaccinated against Covid-19 were linked to health literacy level (p = 0.024). There are high levels of inadequate health literacy among patients with SAD and it is associated with worse HRQoL and risk attitudes about Covid-19 vaccination and medical care during the pandemic.