Relationship Between Health Literacy and Adherence to Treatment in Cardiac Patients

Today, health literacy is introduced as a global issue and debate, and low health literacy appears to be related to nonadherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors and health inequalities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the health status of patients with cardiovascular disease and its relationship with the patients’ adherence status to their drug therapy. The present study was a descriptive correlational study. The research population comprised the patients referred to our clinics. Four hundred participants were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria from the research population. The sampling method was simple random sampling. The instrument consisted of 2 parts: the first part evaluated demographic information and the second part was based on the combination of 2 standard instruments of cardiovascular literacy and adherence to treatment, which were used after being modified and reassessed in terms of validity and reliability. The obtained information was analyzed with the SPSS software, version 19. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used. The Spearman test indicated general health literacy had a significant relationship with treatment (r = 0.31, P < 0.001). This correlation was also observed in relation to the subscales of perception of health (r = 0.27) and health behavior by adherence to treatment (r = 0.29, P < 0.001). If the participants received information through their physicians, they showed a significant relationship between health literacy (in all subscales) and adherence to treatment (P < 0.001). The results showed a high correlation between health literacy and adherence to treatment. Therefore, considering the importance of cardiovascular diseases, as well as the importance of health literacy and its relevance to adherence to treatment, we suggest that the television sets located in the clinics of the center broadcast educational videos during the waiting period for the clients.