Level of Patient Health Literacy and Associated Factors Among Adult Admitted Patients at Public Hospitals of West Shoa Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background

Health literacy is a capacity of individual to gain knowledge that helps to use health information in different levels as needed for self-management and to communicate with health providers. Health literacy has a significant impact on patient health outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess level of patient health literacy and associated factors among adult admitted patients at public hospitals of West Shoa zone, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional, quantitative study was carried out among adult admitted patients at public hospitals of West Shoa Oromia, Ethiopia. An interviewer-administered Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) instrument tool was used to assess patients’ health literacy. All statistical analysis were performed using SPSS for windows program version 21.

Results

A total of 403 patients participated in this study. Majority of the participants were males 235 (58.3%) and aged 40–59 years (n = 164, 40.7%). Overall, 59.1% (n = 238) of the participants have high health literacy. Those respondents who are above grade 12 (tertiary) were 2.45 times more likely to have high health literacy (AOR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.21, 4.98) compared to those respondents not able to read and write . Participants who had age greater or equal to sixty were 65% less likely to have high health literacy (AOR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.70).

Conclusion and Recommendation

Forty percent of the participants have low health literacy. Age and education are significant factors in health literacy. Ethiopian ministry of health, Oromia regional health bureau, West shoa zonal office and healthcare professionals have to provide an intervention in enhancing the level of health literacy by mass media and written material.