Adolescents health literacy on contraceptive methods

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the level of health literacy among adolescents regarding contraceptive methods. Method: A descriptive study, of a quantitative approach, carried out with 288 public school adolescents. The data were obtained with a structured, self-applied questionnaire, sourced from the S-TOPHLA. The descriptive statistical analysis by Pearson’s chi-square test was used to measure the connection between health literacy and the use of contraceptive methods, considering a significance level of 5% (p<0.05). Results: Participants’ mean age was 16.9 years old, ranging from 15 to 19 years old, and the bivariate analysis indicated an association between non-user of contraceptive methods and health literacy (p<0.001). Conclusion: Low health literacy identified in this study can have remarkable consequences on the adolescent´s life, impacting a not very promising future due to changes in an unplanned pregnancy.