the relationship between health literacy and rehospitalization among patients with myocardial infarction

Background: cardiovascular disease, the first leading cause of death worldwide, is associated with different consequences, including rehospitalization. health literacy (hl) is a factor with potential effects on rehospitalization. this study aimed to examine the relationship between hl and rehospitalization among patients with myocardial infarction (mi). methods: this prospective cohort study was conducted in 2015–2017. participants were 366 hospitalized patients with mi who were conveniently recruited from four teaching hospitals in tehran, iran. a demographic questionnaire and the health literacy for iranian adults instrument were completed for participants at the time of their hospital discharge. one month after hospital discharge, thirty-day rehospitalization was assessed over telephone. the spss program (v. 16.0) was used to analyze the data through the chi-square test, independent-sample t test, one-way analysis of variance, pearson’s correlation analysis, and logistic regression analysis.results: t he t otal m ean s core o f h l w as 5 3.08±16.64 ( in the possible range of 0–100). most participants (78.6%) had inadequate or barely adequate hl. at the time of rehospitalization assessment, fifteen participants were inaccessible. among the remaining 351 participants, 28 (8%) reported thirty-day rehospitalization. the mean scores of hl among the participants with and without rehospitalization were 55.36±19.06 and 53.08±16.53, respectively. logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting the effects of potential confounders, hl had a significant relationship with rehospitalization (odds ratio=1.05; 95% confidence interval: 1.007–1.1; p=0.024). conclusion: most hospitalized patients with mi have limited hl, and their hl has a significant relationship with rehospitalization.