Chronic conditions and health literacy in Brazilian community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional study

Objective: To identify the association between chronic conditions and health literacy in community-dwelling older people in a Brazilian city.Methods Two hundred older people registered at five Family Health Units in the city of Naviraí, Brazil, voluntarily participated in a cross-sectional study. Th...

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Main Authors: Madson Alan Maximiano-Barreto, Ana Caroline Pinto Lima, Daiene de Morais, Élen dos Santos Alves, Bruna Moretti Luchesi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Health Literacy and Communication Open
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/28355245.2025.2465310
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author Madson Alan Maximiano-Barreto
Ana Caroline Pinto Lima
Daiene de Morais
Élen dos Santos Alves
Bruna Moretti Luchesi
author_facet Madson Alan Maximiano-Barreto
Ana Caroline Pinto Lima
Daiene de Morais
Élen dos Santos Alves
Bruna Moretti Luchesi
author_sort Madson Alan Maximiano-Barreto
collection DOAJ
description Objective: To identify the association between chronic conditions and health literacy in community-dwelling older people in a Brazilian city.Methods Two hundred older people registered at five Family Health Units in the city of Naviraí, Brazil, voluntarily participated in a cross-sectional study. The participants answered a questionnaire addressing sociodemographic characteristics. The participants also answered a health literacy test and were then divided into three groups based on the score: “lower health literacy”, “intermediate health literacy” and “higher health literacy”).Results Men accounted for slightly more than half of the sample (50.5%) and age ranged from 60 to 97 years (X᷈: 69; [IQR: 66–77] years). Individuals with more advanced age (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.02–1.13) and arterial hypertension (OR: 5.56; 95% CI: 2.17–14.21) were more likely to have “lower health literacy”, whereas those with diabetes mellitus (OR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.16–0.86) were less likely to have “lower health literacy”.Conclusions Low health literacy was associated with the presence of hypertension in older people, but not diabetes mellitus. Further studies on this issue are needed, along with the planning of strategies and public policies to mitigate the negative impacts of low health literacy.
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spelling doaj-art-5c9d1feff39749eb85dbfd28da061ca32025-08-20T02:17:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHealth Literacy and Communication Open2835-52452025-12-013110.1080/28355245.2025.2465310Chronic conditions and health literacy in Brazilian community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional studyMadson Alan Maximiano-Barreto0Ana Caroline Pinto Lima1Daiene de Morais2Élen dos Santos Alves3Bruna Moretti Luchesi4Research Group on Mental Health, Cognition and Aging, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, BrazilCampus de Três Lagoas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Três Lagoas, MS, BrazilResearch Group on Mental Health, Cognition and Aging, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, BrazilDepartment of Nursing, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, BrazilResearch Group on Mental Health, Cognition and Aging, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, BrazilObjective: To identify the association between chronic conditions and health literacy in community-dwelling older people in a Brazilian city.Methods Two hundred older people registered at five Family Health Units in the city of Naviraí, Brazil, voluntarily participated in a cross-sectional study. The participants answered a questionnaire addressing sociodemographic characteristics. The participants also answered a health literacy test and were then divided into three groups based on the score: “lower health literacy”, “intermediate health literacy” and “higher health literacy”).Results Men accounted for slightly more than half of the sample (50.5%) and age ranged from 60 to 97 years (X᷈: 69; [IQR: 66–77] years). Individuals with more advanced age (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.02–1.13) and arterial hypertension (OR: 5.56; 95% CI: 2.17–14.21) were more likely to have “lower health literacy”, whereas those with diabetes mellitus (OR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.16–0.86) were less likely to have “lower health literacy”.Conclusions Low health literacy was associated with the presence of hypertension in older people, but not diabetes mellitus. Further studies on this issue are needed, along with the planning of strategies and public policies to mitigate the negative impacts of low health literacy.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/28355245.2025.2465310AgingBrazilcommunity-dwellinghealth literacy
spellingShingle Madson Alan Maximiano-Barreto
Ana Caroline Pinto Lima
Daiene de Morais
Élen dos Santos Alves
Bruna Moretti Luchesi
Chronic conditions and health literacy in Brazilian community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional study
Health Literacy and Communication Open
Aging
Brazil
community-dwelling
health literacy
title Chronic conditions and health literacy in Brazilian community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional study
title_full Chronic conditions and health literacy in Brazilian community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Chronic conditions and health literacy in Brazilian community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Chronic conditions and health literacy in Brazilian community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional study
title_short Chronic conditions and health literacy in Brazilian community-dwelling older people: a cross-sectional study
title_sort chronic conditions and health literacy in brazilian community dwelling older people a cross sectional study
topic Aging
Brazil
community-dwelling
health literacy
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/28355245.2025.2465310
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