The Relationship between Health Literacy and Adherence to Medication Regimen in the Elderly with Asthma in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran

Adherence to medication regimen in the elderly is of particular importance for improving medical care. By definition, the term health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others. Therefore, the general purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between health literacy and adherence to medication regimen in the elderly with asthma in the pulmonary clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran.

The present study is a descriptive-analytical research and correlation type. A total of 240 people over 60 years old with asthma referred to the pulmonary clinic of the hospital and were selected by available sampling method. To collect data, TOFHLA adult health literacy tool, MMAS-8 medication adherence questionnaire, demographic information questionnaire and AMT test were used to determine the cognitive status of the elderly. Data were analyzed by independent-samples t-test and Pearson correlation method using SPSS 21 software.

Based on data analysis, there was a statistically significant and direct relationship between health literacy and adherence to medication regimen (r = 0.155, p <0.016).

According to study findings, as the health literacy increased, adherence to medication regimen increased as well.