Self-care and Health Literacy in Iranian Elderly: A Review

The growth in the number of older people as the silent revolution is a phenomenon of the 21st century in developed and developing countries. Their care has become one of the serious health challenges around the world, especially for those with non-communicable diseases. This study was aims to investigate the health literacy and self-care status of the elderly in Iran.

In this review study, a search was conducted for the related studies in Iran published from 2005 to 2021 in Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Web of Science, DOAJ, Magiran, IranMedex and Scientific Information Database (SID). Selection methods for study: Initial search yielded 508 articles, of which 36 were finally selected after eliminating duplicates and using the PRISMA checklist.

Of 36 articles, 23 assessed the self-care status in the elderly and 13 assessed the health literacy level of the elderly.

The self-care and health literacy of the elderly in Iran is at low level and are related to various factors. It is necessary to use methods with positive effect on their self-care and health literacy such as educational interventions.