| چکیده انگلیسی مقاله |
Aims: Health literacy (HL) is a critical factor in achieving good health, as it plays a central role in health and healthcare. Another important factor affecting health outcomes is medication adherence, especially in patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between health literacy and medication adherence in patients with cirrhosis.
Instruments and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study involved 141 cirrhosis patients from two teaching hospitals in Iraq, recruited using a convenience sampling method. Data collection involved three self-report questionnaires including demographic characteristics, the All Aspects of Health Literacy Scale (AAHLS), and the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS). Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 16. Findings: The findings indicated that most patients (92.90%) exhibited non-adherence to medication, with a medication adherence score of more than 16. Additionally, 75.88% of patients demonstrated a low level of health literacy. A positive and significant correlation was observed between medication adherence and total health literacy score (r = 0.358, p<0.001).
Conclusion: The majority of patients exhibited low health literacy and non-adherence to medications. Therefore, implementing educational programs to improve health literacy could potentially increase patients’ medication adherence. |