Health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patients

Abstract Introduction Today, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have become increasingly prevalent in various societies. Having an adequate level of health literacy and necessary motivation to modify high-risk behaviors are among the key factors influencing the improvement of patient conditions. The pre...

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Main Authors: Hossein Ghalavand, Abdolahad Nabiolahi, Sirous Panahi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Cardiovascular Disorders
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-025-04936-w
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author Hossein Ghalavand
Abdolahad Nabiolahi
Sirous Panahi
author_facet Hossein Ghalavand
Abdolahad Nabiolahi
Sirous Panahi
author_sort Hossein Ghalavand
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction Today, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have become increasingly prevalent in various societies. Having an adequate level of health literacy and necessary motivation to modify high-risk behaviors are among the key factors influencing the improvement of patient conditions. The present study investigates the relationship between health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among patients with CVDs. Methodology This is a cross-sectional, correlational research. The research population consists of 190 patients with CVDs and a history of hospitalization, who are randomly selected. Health literacy questionnaire and Health Behavior Motivation Scale were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, and descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results 189 cardiovascular patients participated in this study. The mean health literacy scores of patients with CVDs were 23.91, 15.42, 27.38, 15.59 and 46.39 in terms of access, reading skills, understanding, appraisal and application of health information, respectively. Scores for motivation to change health behaviors between CVDs patients revealed means for autonomous motivation were 3.67, for controlled motivation stands at 3.48, and for the probability rating assigned by physicians were 4.06. Considering the significance level of Sig > 0.05, except for understanding health information (f = 2.962, Sig = 0.021), no significant correlation was found between health literacy dimensions and patients’ age. The age variable was not correlated with any of the dimensions of motivation to change patients’ behavior. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between patients’ educational level and their health literacy and motivation for change health behavior dimensions scores (Sig > 0.05). There was no significant relationship between sex and dimensions of health literacy and motivation for health behavior change (Sig > 0.05). Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between patients’ scores in five dimensions of health literacy and motivation for health behavior change (r = 0.154, Sig = 0.034). Conclusion Considering the undesirable level of health literacy among patients with CVDs and a strong correlation between levels of health literacy and motivation for health behavior change, it is recommended that health literacy improvement programs must be developed by health-related institutions through various innovative educational interventions in different in-person and online settings.
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spelling doaj-art-0459ad05d30d400a9fe3e85f7d837afe2025-08-20T03:03:23ZengBMCBMC Cardiovascular Disorders1471-22612025-07-012511910.1186/s12872-025-04936-wHealth literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patientsHossein Ghalavand0Abdolahad Nabiolahi1Sirous Panahi2Department of Medical library and Information Science, Abadan University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Medical library and Information Science, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Zahedan University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Medical library and Information Science, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical SciencesAbstract Introduction Today, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have become increasingly prevalent in various societies. Having an adequate level of health literacy and necessary motivation to modify high-risk behaviors are among the key factors influencing the improvement of patient conditions. The present study investigates the relationship between health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among patients with CVDs. Methodology This is a cross-sectional, correlational research. The research population consists of 190 patients with CVDs and a history of hospitalization, who are randomly selected. Health literacy questionnaire and Health Behavior Motivation Scale were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0, and descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results 189 cardiovascular patients participated in this study. The mean health literacy scores of patients with CVDs were 23.91, 15.42, 27.38, 15.59 and 46.39 in terms of access, reading skills, understanding, appraisal and application of health information, respectively. Scores for motivation to change health behaviors between CVDs patients revealed means for autonomous motivation were 3.67, for controlled motivation stands at 3.48, and for the probability rating assigned by physicians were 4.06. Considering the significance level of Sig > 0.05, except for understanding health information (f = 2.962, Sig = 0.021), no significant correlation was found between health literacy dimensions and patients’ age. The age variable was not correlated with any of the dimensions of motivation to change patients’ behavior. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between patients’ educational level and their health literacy and motivation for change health behavior dimensions scores (Sig > 0.05). There was no significant relationship between sex and dimensions of health literacy and motivation for health behavior change (Sig > 0.05). Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between patients’ scores in five dimensions of health literacy and motivation for health behavior change (r = 0.154, Sig = 0.034). Conclusion Considering the undesirable level of health literacy among patients with CVDs and a strong correlation between levels of health literacy and motivation for health behavior change, it is recommended that health literacy improvement programs must be developed by health-related institutions through various innovative educational interventions in different in-person and online settings.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-025-04936-wHealth literacyHealth behaviorMotivationCardiovascular abnormalitiesPatients
spellingShingle Hossein Ghalavand
Abdolahad Nabiolahi
Sirous Panahi
Health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patients
BMC Cardiovascular Disorders
Health literacy
Health behavior
Motivation
Cardiovascular abnormalities
Patients
title Health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patients
title_full Health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patients
title_fullStr Health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patients
title_full_unstemmed Health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patients
title_short Health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patients
title_sort health literacy and motivation to change health behavior among cardiovascular patients
topic Health literacy
Health behavior
Motivation
Cardiovascular abnormalities
Patients
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-025-04936-w
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