(166) Impact of Health Literacy on Medication Adherence in The Elderly

Publication Number: 840

Background: Health literacy (HL) is a major determinant for health. However, it is neglected which can ultimately affect the clinical outcomes, since low HL has adverse health effects especially in case of having equitable access to the health care.

Objectives: To assess the impact of health literacy on medication adherence amongst the elderly

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of geriatrics of a tertiary care hospital to assess the levels of medication adherence and health literacy. It was done using the simplified medication adherence questionnaire, and HLS-EU-Q16 questionnaire. Data thus collected were categorically analyzed. Association between age, gender, level of education, area of domicile, socio-economic status, HL score and level of adherence was tested using chi-square test.

Results: A total of 30 patients were interviewed during December 2021, with at least one chronic disease condition and the mean age was found to be 72 ± 4.73 years. The average length of hospital stay was found to be 10 days. The medication adherence amongst the study participants was found to be 50%. The mean HL score was found to be 10. The health literacy level of 36.67% of the respondents was sufficient (Score = ≥ 13), 16.67% was problematic (Score = 9-12), and with majority 46.67% falling under inadequate (Score = 0-8). The Chi-square analysis indicated significant variation in medication adherence by age (p = 0.0223) and gender (p=0.0464), and there was no statistically significant difference found between the adherence level and HL (p = 0.07).

Conclusions: Low HL was recorded among the study population. However, in the current study, the small sample size was a limitation for any significant findings. A clinical pharmacist can play a vital role in evaluating the HL and develop strategies to enhance HL thereby mitigating any adverse health effects among the population.