Health Literacy among Parents of Referral Children to Hamadan Hospital, Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background and Objective: Parent health literacy plays a critical role in the health of the pediatric patients. Awareness about the level of health literacy of parents is essential. This study is aimed to investigate the health literacy among parents of referral children to Besat hospital, Hamadan, Iran.Materials and Methods:  This cross-sectional study was conducted on ۱۰۰ parents (۸۷ mothers and ۱۳ fathers), who their children were referred to Besat Hospital, in fall ۲۰۲۱. Samples were randomly selected. Demographic and TOFHLA questionnaire were used to collect data.  SPSS ۲۱ was used to analyze data by independent t-test, chi-square test, ANOVA at a significance level of ۰.۰۵.Results: The average leve of fathers' and mothers’ health literacy was ۳۲.۶۴± ۱۰.۲۳ and ۶۴.۹۶ ±۲۲.۷۵, respectively. A total of ۸۵ (۸۵%) of the participants were married and lived with spouses. The education level of ۵۱.۷۲% of mothers and ۵۳.۸۴% of fathers were under diploma. Parents' health literacy was significantly changed based on the parent’s education level (p = ۰.۰۵), the parent’s job (p= <۰.۰۰۱), and the place of residency (p=۰.۰۰۱). Effect of marital status (p=۰.۴۸۶) and  parents' gender  (p = ۰.۹۸۴) on parents' health literacy were not significant Conclusion: Half of the parents' health literacy was inadequate, and the level of health literacy was higher in parents that lived in urban and especial work with higher academic education

Keywords:

Health Literacy , parents , Children , Pediatric