Investigating the status of health literacy and its predictive factors in women with breast cancer referring to university teaching hospitals and Javadalameh Clinic in Kerman, 2021

Introduction:Health literacy is among the most critical factors affecting breast cancer survival.  This study was designed and implemented with the aim of determining the level of health literacy and its predictors in women with breast cancer referring to university teaching hospitals and Javadolaeme Clinic in Kerman in 2021. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on women with breast cancer referred to university teaching hospitals and Javadolaeme Clinic in Kerman city in 2021. To collect data, a self-administered questionnaire including the demographic profile of the patients, and the valid and reliable Persian version of the health literacy of Iranian women with breast cancer (HELBA: Health Literacy of Breast Cancer for Adults) was used. The questionnaire was entered into SPSS version 20 software and analyzed. Results: In this study, nearly 15.3% of participants had low health literacy. According to the univariate logistic regression model, the health literacy level of the study participants had a significant relationship with all the demographic variables included in the study except the age of the spouse (P<0.05). In the multivariate logistic regression model, only the spouse's education level had a significant relationship with the health literacy of the participants in the study. The chance of having health literacy was 4.33 times and 5.87 times (more likely in participants with spouses with a diploma level of education and participants with spouses with a university education than in participants with spouses with education below a diploma. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the level of health literacy in many women with breast cancer is sufficient, however, educational planning should be done to improve the level of literacy in this group, especially emphasizing the health literacy of the spouses.