Relationship between Health Literacy and Multi-Infections Based on Gender Differences in the Elderly

With age, a person faces many threats, such as developing chronic diseases. Health literacy plays a crucial role in the prevention and treatment of these diseases. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the relationship between health literacy and multi-infection based on gender differences in the elderly.

This cross-sectional study was performed on the elderly population over 60 years in Comprehensive Health Center and Health Post at Malekan City, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran, in 2018. Four hundred eighty-seven people were sampled by the stratified random sampling method. Demographic and standard health literacy questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test, chi-square, and linear regression model by SPSS 26 software.

The mean participants’ age was 64.9±6.5 years. The health literacy level of 63.86% of the participants was insufficient, and only 1.23% of the subjects had excellent health literacy. The rate of multi-infection in women was significantly higher than in men.

The level of health literacy and multi-infection rate in women is higher than in men.