Relationship between Health Literacy and the Socioeconomic Status among primiparous pregnant women referring to comprehensive health services centers in Bushehr

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Health Education and Promotion, Faculty of Health, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.

2 Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.

3 Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran

4 Clinical Research Development Center, “The Gulf Martyrs" Hospital, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran

5 Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.

Abstract

Background and Objective: Health literacy is an important element in the ability of a woman to engage in activities that promote their health, family, or children's health. The health literacy of pregnant mothers can affect the pregnancy health and also the health of the baby by improving the quality of prenatal care. Understanding the most important factors affecting the health literacy of pregnant women is very important. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between health literacy level and socioeconomic status among primigravida womenin Bushehr, Iran.
Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 100 primigravida women referring to the comprehensive health centers of Bushehr were randomly selected. Health literacy standard questionnaires (FCCHL) and socioeconomic status questionnaire (SES) were used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS v.22 software.
Results: The mean age of participants was 26.96 ± 4.84. The highest score of health literacy was in the functional and the lowest score was in the critical domain. Employed pregnant women had better communicational (p=0.002, z= -3.12) and critical health literacy (p=0.006, z=-2.938). There was a direct and significant relationship between socioeconomic status and critical health literacy; participants with higher levels of socioeconomic status had a higher level of critical health literacy (p = 0.04, r = 0.206).
Conclusion: It is necessary to pay attention to women with low socioeconomic status in order to improve their health literacy level and provide health services and appropriate education.
Paper Type: Research Article

Keywords


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