A Comparison of Health Literacy and Health-Related Quality of Life between Orphan and Normal Adolescents

Adolescence is one of the most important periods of life. Adolescents living in Orphanages are more exposed to health risks. One of the factors influencing health in Adolescence is health literacy and the health-related quality of life. This study aimed to compare health literacy and health-related quality of life between Orphan and Normal Adolescents.  In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 72 Orphanage adolescents and 160 adolescents at home were selected from Tehran Province through cluster sampling from Sep 13, 2020 to Jan 9, 2021. The data was collected using adolescents’ health literacy (HELMA) questionnaire and HRQOL (Kidscreen-27) questionnaire. In order to analyze the data, ANCOVA, Chi-square test, Independent Samples t-test, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney test were used in SPSS 22. There is no significant difference in health literacy among the two groups (p=0.84) and only in the subclass calculation, Orphanage  adolescents obtained a significantly higher score (p=0.007). There was also no significant difference in HRQOL between the two groups (p=0.11). However, in the subclasses school environment (P=0.03) and psychological well-being (p=0.01) adolescents at home and in the subclass social support and peers (p=0.02) Orphanage adolescents gained significantly higher scores. Despite the special conditions of Orphanage adolescents, the health literacy and HRQOL were not significantly different between the two groups. In the subclass calculation of health literacy, Orphanage adolescents obtained a significantly higher score and the subclasses of HRQOL, school environment, and psychological well-being adolescents at home, and the subclass social support and peers Orphanage adolescents gained significantly higher scores.