Health Literacy and Its Related Factors Among the Elderly in Rasht City, Iran

Introduction: Limited health literacy is a major concern among the elderly because they often need more health information and services to maintain their well-being. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the level of health literacy of elderly members of the National Retirement Fund of Ra...

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Main Authors: Afsaneh Nezafati, Nasrin Mokhtari Lake, Farzaneh Sheikholeslami, Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Guilan University of Medical Sciences 2020-06-01
Series:Journal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery
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Online Access:http://hnmj.gums.ac.ir/article-1-1403-en.html
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author Afsaneh Nezafati
Nasrin Mokhtari Lake
Farzaneh Sheikholeslami
Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili
author_facet Afsaneh Nezafati
Nasrin Mokhtari Lake
Farzaneh Sheikholeslami
Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili
author_sort Afsaneh Nezafati
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Limited health literacy is a major concern among the elderly because they often need more health information and services to maintain their well-being. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the level of health literacy of elderly members of the National Retirement Fund of Rasht City, Iran. Materials and Methods: The present study was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 290 retirees of the National Retirement Fund of Rasht City using the convenience sampling method in 2017. The data collection tool was a questionnaire consisting of two sections: personal profile and functional health literacy of adults (TOFHLA: Test of Functional Health Literacy of Adults). TOFHLA consists of two sections: reading comprehension and numeracy, which includes 67 questions (50 questions related to reading comprehension and 17 questions related to numeracy). The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square test, Fisher exact-test, analysis of variance, and Independent t-test). Results: The mean±SD age of the participants was 65.38±4.96 years. About 52.1% of the subjects were men and the rest were women. Also, 54.8% had adequate health literacy. The highest mean±SD score of health literacy was in the field of reading comprehension (36.30±7.90) and the field of numeracy (36.11±11.60). A statistically significant relationship was observed between the level of health literacy and the level of education (P=0.001) and between the level of education of the spouse (P=0.0001) and the history of cancer (P=0.008). Conclusion: This study showed that about half of the elderly studied had poor health literacy. Providing appropriate training programs may be effective in improving the health of the elderly.
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spelling doaj-art-f452fca441eb4acca7b3daeab220debc2024-12-02T04:40:33ZengGuilan University of Medical SciencesJournal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery2588-37122588-37202020-06-01303129136Health Literacy and Its Related Factors Among the Elderly in Rasht City, IranAfsaneh Nezafati0Nasrin Mokhtari Lake1Farzaneh Sheikholeslami2Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili3 Nursing (MSN), Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran Instructor, Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran Instructor, Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran Associate Professor, Social Determinants of Health Research Center (SDHRC), Biostatistics, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran Introduction: Limited health literacy is a major concern among the elderly because they often need more health information and services to maintain their well-being. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the level of health literacy of elderly members of the National Retirement Fund of Rasht City, Iran. Materials and Methods: The present study was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 290 retirees of the National Retirement Fund of Rasht City using the convenience sampling method in 2017. The data collection tool was a questionnaire consisting of two sections: personal profile and functional health literacy of adults (TOFHLA: Test of Functional Health Literacy of Adults). TOFHLA consists of two sections: reading comprehension and numeracy, which includes 67 questions (50 questions related to reading comprehension and 17 questions related to numeracy). The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square test, Fisher exact-test, analysis of variance, and Independent t-test). Results: The mean±SD age of the participants was 65.38±4.96 years. About 52.1% of the subjects were men and the rest were women. Also, 54.8% had adequate health literacy. The highest mean±SD score of health literacy was in the field of reading comprehension (36.30±7.90) and the field of numeracy (36.11±11.60). A statistically significant relationship was observed between the level of health literacy and the level of education (P=0.001) and between the level of education of the spouse (P=0.0001) and the history of cancer (P=0.008). Conclusion: This study showed that about half of the elderly studied had poor health literacy. Providing appropriate training programs may be effective in improving the health of the elderly.http://hnmj.gums.ac.ir/article-1-1403-en.htmlhealth literacythe elderlytofhla
spellingShingle Afsaneh Nezafati
Nasrin Mokhtari Lake
Farzaneh Sheikholeslami
Ehsan Kazemnezhad Leili
Health Literacy and Its Related Factors Among the Elderly in Rasht City, Iran
Journal of Holistic Nursing and Midwifery
health literacy
the elderly
tofhla
title Health Literacy and Its Related Factors Among the Elderly in Rasht City, Iran
title_full Health Literacy and Its Related Factors Among the Elderly in Rasht City, Iran
title_fullStr Health Literacy and Its Related Factors Among the Elderly in Rasht City, Iran
title_full_unstemmed Health Literacy and Its Related Factors Among the Elderly in Rasht City, Iran
title_short Health Literacy and Its Related Factors Among the Elderly in Rasht City, Iran
title_sort health literacy and its related factors among the elderly in rasht city iran
topic health literacy
the elderly
tofhla
url http://hnmj.gums.ac.ir/article-1-1403-en.html
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