Health Literacy Levels of Women Attending a Perinatology Outpatient Clinic for High-Risk Pregnancy Follow-Up.
| Autor: | Albayrak M; Obstetrics and Gynecology, Giresun Training and Research Hospital, Giresun, TUR., Arslan HF; Clinical Biochemistry, Giresun Obstetrics and Gynecology Education and Research Hospital, Giresun, TUR. |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | Cureus [Cureus] 2024 Aug 31; Vol. 16 (8), pp. e68267. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 31 (Print Publication: 2024). |
| DOI: | 10.7759/cureus.68267 |
| Abstrakt: | Background: Health literacy, defined as the ability to obtain, understand, evaluate, and apply health information with knowledge, motivation, and skills, is crucial for maintaining and improving quality of life. Despite the availability of health information, limited health literacy is linked to health disparities, inadequate self-management of chronic diseases, and poorer health outcomes. Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the health literacy of pregnant women who visit the Perinatology Outpatient Clinic for follow-up care. It seeks to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding that may impede effective healthcare delivery and inform targeted health education and public awareness programs to enhance health literacy. Methods: This prospective survey study included 210 pregnant women aged 18 to 40 years attending the Perinatology Outpatient Clinic at Giresun Obstetrics and Gynecology Training and Research Hospital, Turkey. Participants completed a questionnaire on health literacy, sociodemographics, and basic health status via Google Forms (Google Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics version 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), employing tests such as Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Student's t-test, ANOVA, Spearman, and Pearson correlation, and multivariate linear regression analysis. Results: The mean age of participants was 29.97±5.44 years, with a mean health literacy score of 29.89±7.05. Education level and living place significantly influenced health literacy scores, with higher scores among those with higher education and urban living (p = 0.014 and p = 0.038, respectively). Economic status also significantly impacted health literacy, with lower scores among those with poor economic status (p<0.001). Health literacy scores were higher among those receiving health information from healthcare professionals (p = 0.006) and lower among those finding medical information from doctors insufficient (p = 0.008). Conclusion: Health literacy is significantly influenced by education level, living place, and economic status. The study emphasizes the necessity of focused health education initiatives, especially for individuals with lower educational attainment and those residing in rural regions. Improving health literacy via efficient communication from medical professionals can benefit expectant mothers and their unborn children by lowering medical expenses and improving health outcomes. Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Giresun Education and Research Hospital Ethics Committee issued approval 24.04.2024/06. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. (Copyright © 2024, Albayrak et al.) |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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