Investigating the Relationship between Health Literacy and Self-efficacy in Patients with Hypertension in Ferdows City, South Khorasan Province

Hypertension is one of the most important health problems in all countries of the world, and enhancing the level of health literacy and self-efficacy of people can be effective in controlling this disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between health literacy and self-efficacy in patients with hypertension in Ferdows.

This is a cross-sectional analytical study performed on 240 hypertensive patients in the comprehensive rural health centers of Ferdows city who were selected by systematic sampling. Data collection tools included Health Literacy Questionnaire by Montazeri et al. and the standard self-efficacy questionnaire in chronic diseases. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22, using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation tests, one-way analysis of variance, and independent t-test at a significance level of 0.05.

The mean age of the participants was 53.26±7.38 years. Health literacy and self-efficacy showed differences between men and women (P>0.05). There was a significant relationship between education and income level with health literacy and self-efficacy (p<0.001), with health literacy and self-efficacy being higher in married people with higher educational attainment and income. Also, a significant relationship was observed between health literacy, age and self-efficacy (p<0.001).

Health literacy is one of the most important tools in improving the self-efficacy of patients with hypertension.