The Relationship between Health Literacy and Rehospitalization among Patients with Myocardial Infarction

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). 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. 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). Most hospitalized patients with MI have limited HL, and their HL has a significant relationship with rehospitalization.