EVALUATION OF HEALTH LITERACY LEVEL AND RELATED FACTORS IN OLDER ADULT PATIENTS

Abstract

Introduction: Health literacy refers to the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services. This study, aimed to determine the level of health literacy and the factors related health literacy in patients aged 65 years and over who applied to the outpatient clinic. Materials and Methods: This single-center, descriptive study was conducted between December 1, 2020, and April 31, 2021. A total of 98 patients aged 65 years and over who applied to the physical therapy and rehabilitation outpatient clinic due to musculoskeletal problems were included in the study. We assessed the patients’ age, sex, education level, monthly income, marital status, and frequency of hospital admission in the last 3 months, determined patients health literacy levels, and examined the relationship between them. The Turkish Health Literacy Scale was used to evaluate patients health literacy. Results: The mean The Turkish Health Literacy Scale index score of the participants in the study was 27.92±7.53. The increase in health literacy level was statistically significant among the young aged, with high monthly income, and high education level (p<0.001). There was no statistically significant relationship between gender, marital status, frequency of admission to hospital in the last 3 months and health literacy (p>0.05). Conclusion: We determined that the level of health literacy was low in older adult patients. Informing these patients regarding this issue and improving their health literacy levels is important to ensure a more efficient use of health services.