Health Literacy Levels and Predictors Among Hospitalized Patients With Chronic Diseases

This study revealed that more than half of individuals with chronic diseases have inadequate/problematic/limited health literacy. Approximately one-fourth of individuals with chronic diseases had inadequate health literacy. In addition, the health literacy level was low in older patients, had a high frequency of visits to health care institutions, had a high frequency of hospitalization, had a high frequency of emergency unit visits, had a long duration of chronic disease (years), had a high number of medications, and had a high number of comorbid diseases for the past year. Health education should be provided to patients frequently visiting the hospital to improve their health status.