Mild Cognitive Impairment-related Health Literacy (MCI-HL) in the Aging Process: A Conceptual Framework-directed Qualitative Explanation Based on Expert Insights

Farhadpour, Maryam; Rakhshanderou, Sakineh; Ghaffari, Mohtasham

doi:10.22038/jhl.2026.95017.1949

Mild Cognitive Impairment-related Health Literacy (MCI-HL) in the Aging Process: A Conceptual Framework-directed Qualitative Explanation Based on Expert Insights

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Maryam Farhadpour ¹

Sakineh Rakhshanderou ²

Mohtasham Ghaffari ³^{, 4}

¹ M.Sc. Student of Aging Health, School of Public Health & Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

² Associate Professor of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Public Health & Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

³ Professor of Health Education and Health Promotion, Environmental and Occupational Hazards Control Research Center, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Environment, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

⁴ Department of public health, school of public health and safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

10.22038/jhl.2026.95017.1949

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Health literacy plays an important role in self-care, prevention, and management of mild cognitive impairment. Therefore, explaining the concept of mild cognitive impairment-related health literacy (MCI-HL) is an essential first step. This study aimed to explain the concept of MCI-HL in healthy people aged 45 years and older.

Material and Methods: This exploratory qualitative study used Qualitative directed - Content Analysis (QCA) based on the Hsieh and Shannon’s approach to explain Mild Cognitive Impairment-related Health Literacy (MCI-HL). Twelve experts from the fields of gerontology, health education and promotion, psychology and elderly care, employed in various medical university of Iran were interviewed through purposeful and snowball sampling and interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The five dimensions of the existing MCI-HL framework were used as pre-determined main categories for extraction of codes and subcategories. Data were analyzed using MAXQDA 2020. The study ensured credibility through member checks and data review.

Results: The Analysis yielded 236 primary codes and 44 sub-categories. These were organized under five main dimensions of MCI-HL: function, knowledge, attitude, motivation, and practice. The number of subcategories within these dimensions was 12, 8, 8, 7, and 9, respectively.

Conclusion: The findings provide a deeper understanding of MCI-HL that can be used in the development of valid and reliable assessment tools for measurement purposes in the adult population.

Keywords

Aging

Aged

Mild Cognitive Impairment

Health Literacy

Middle-aged

Acknowledgments: This study has been supported by Environmental and Occupational Hazards Control Research Center, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Environment, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The authors gratefully acknowledge this support. We also, appreciate all the experts who participated in this research as well as all the relevant reviewers who helped us improve the quality of the present paper.

Availability of data and materials: The data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article. Additional data can be accessed upon request from the corresponding author.

Conflict of interest: The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Ethics approval and consent to participate: This paper was extracted from a master's thesis in the field of aging health, which was confirmed by the Ethics Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.SBMU.PHNS.REC.1404.164/ Pajoohan Code: 43018256). All stages of the study were conducted in accordance withthe Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments. Basic information such as the objective, interview method, confidentiality of information, right to participate or withdraw, and preservation of the audio file was given to the participants. They also provided oral informed consent to participate and to be audio-recorded at the beginning of the interview.

Funding: This study was not financially supported by any organization.

Authors' contributions: MGH contributed to supervision, methodology, data analysis, interpretation of the data, review, and editing. SR contributed to the methodology, data analysis, content analysis, interpretation of the data, review, and editing. MF contributed to project administration, data collection and analysis, and the writing of the initial draft. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript. The corresponding author had full access to all of the data in this study and takes complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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