Assessment of health literacy and self-care in heart failure patients

Self-care is one of the most important elements of
life and success in the treatment of patients with heart failure; on the other
hand health literacy is the first and most effective step on self-care, so the aim
of this study was to investigate the relationship between health literacy level
and self-care in patients with heart failure.
Methods: This study with descriptive-correlation approach was done among
105 patients with heart failure who referred to Imam Khomeini hospital in Ma-
habad during1394-95 who were randomly selected. Data were collected by two
standard questionnaires self-care of heart failure index (SCHFI V6.2) and Health
Literacy for Iranian Adults (HELIA). Data, were analyzed by SPSS software and
Pearson tests, chi- Square linear regression.
Results: The average age of participants 12/81 ± 60/74 years. Health literacy
levels according to the questionnaire HELIA, 6.91 per cent at the intermediate
level, 28.6 percent was inadequate and 5.9 percent was favorable. In the area
of self-care, respectively, maintaining self-care subscale with an average of 5.24
± 21.37, self- confidence in self-care with 3.78 ± 15.39 and self-care manage-
ment 4.18 ± 15.01 respectively. There was a significant relationship between
general health literacy and three subscales of self-care and age, education and
occupation (p <0/005). Statistical analysis showed a significant positive correla-
tion between health literacy scale and self-care subscales (p <0/001).
Conclusion: The dimension of assessment and access to health literacy were
better predictors of self-care areas. With regard to the relationship between
health literacy and areas of self-care in patients with heart failure, creating
units in medical centers to identify factors associated with them to identify
strengths and weaknesses in the way of self-care is recommended.