Health literacy of adults with and without arterial hypertension

Abstract

Objective: Assess the level of health literacy of adults, with and without hypertension, treated in three basic health units (UBS) in Picos, Piauí. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted with 357 adults. Data were collected using a questionnaire with sociodemographic variables, and literacy was assessed by the Test of Functional Literacy in Adults. Descriptive analysis was performed followed by the association between literacy and exposure variables with Pearson's chi-squared (X²) test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Inadequate or marginal health literacy was found in three units investigated (71.5%; 77.8% and 85.2%);. Age and the years of schooling were factors associated with inadequate literacy in adults with hypertension (p<0.0001). Conclusion: Inadequate literacy was found in more than 70% of the hypertensive patients investigated. This finding reinforces the need to improve the self-care skills of hypertensive patients, especially the older ones and those with few years of schooling.

Functional health literacy in older adults with hypertension in the Family Health Strategy

“…The sociodemographic characteristics found in this study, such as the predominance of females, living with a partner, having more than four years of study, not having a paid job, being white and having an income higher than a minimum wage, were similar to other studies who assessed the FHL (9,21) . In addition, corroborating the research findings, studies that assessed the FHL of people with hypertension also found inadequate or marginal FHL in most investigated participants, as in a study conducted nationwide, in the city of Picos-PI, and internationally, in Isfahan Province, Iran (9)(10) . Education was shown to be linked to FHL, so that older adult with up to 4 years of study had lower averages in the FHL score than those who studied more than 4 years.…”

“…A study carried out in Picos-PI found that people with hypertension who had marginal/inadequate FHL had a higher average age than those with adequate FHL (9) . Regarding the older adults, it is important for the professionals to know about the peculiarities of the aging process, its impact on old age, in addition to being able to guide older adults and their relatives in care, aiming at maintaining health and improving well-being from that population.…”

“…The variables used in the study were selected from what the national and international literature (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)16) present as factors possibly associated with the FHL: sociodemographic characteristics (gender, marital status, education, paid job, skin color and income), health characteristics and habits (hospitalization, help with medication, help with activities of daily living, physical activity, specific diet for hypertension and participation in groups), information sources used to obtain health information (radio, television, telephone, internet and health unit) and professionals who provided health guidance (physician, nurse, nursing technician, community health worker and none).…”

“…Individuals with satisfactory FHL tend to have better health outcomes, as they have a greater understanding of the importance of adopting preventive measures and find it easier to understand instructions about medications (6,8) . So, in a study carried out in Picos-PI, which assessed the FHL of adults with and without hypertension, it was observed that the inadequate or marginal FHL had a higher percentage among adults with hypertension in the three Primary Health Center (71.5%; 77.8%; 85.2%) (9) . A study carried out in Iran, with people with an average age of 60.58 years old, showed that there is an association between FHL and knowledge among patients with hypertension (10) .…”

“…Thus, the nurse's performance corresponds to the new care model, not being focused on clinic and healing, but, mainly, built through interpersonal relationships of dialogue, listening, humanization and respect. This new model focuses on the users participation in their proper treatment, decision-making and self-care, so that prevention, diagnosis, monitoring and control of chronic diseases such as hypertension are achieved (9,12) .…”