Development of Health Literacy Assessment Tool for Hypertensive Patients in Pakistan having understanding of the Urdu Language
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47883/jszmc.v14i1.258Keywords:
Health Literacy Assessment Tool, Hypertension, Validity, UrduAbstract
Background: Health literacy is a critical aspect of healthcare, particularly for people with chronic conditions such as hypertension. Low health literacy levels may result in poor health outcomes.
Objective: To determine the health literacy level for hypertension and after development of Health Literacy Assessment Tool in Urdu specifically for patients with hypertension.
Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 135 hypertensive patients. The health literacy assessment tool in Urdu for hypertension was initially tested on patients who met the inclusion criteria at an outpatient department of the Sheikh Zayed Medical Complex Lahore. Patients were interviewed through convenient sampling, ensuring their privacy in a separate waiting area. Following informed consent, followed by a listening session, and then a visual session. A health literacy tool was developed specifically for patients with hypertension. Patients were assessed for visual, listening, and reading ability, with content specifically related to hypertension. The tool was created in consultation with researchers and healthcare providers, and its construct validity was determined based on patients' education levels and their ability to understand visual and verbal information related to health literacy. The tool's reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha.
Results: The tool's reliability was determined using Cronbach's alpha, which was 0.86. The mean score for health literacy was 6.2±1.9), with a range of 0-10. Based on the categorization, 27% of the participants had inadequate health literacy, 45% had moderate health literacy and 28% had adequate health literacy.
Conclusion: The Health Literacy Assessment Tool showed that about one in four hypertensive has inadequate knowledge about hypertension. By promoting health literacy, individuals with hypertension can make informed decisions about their health
