Health Literacy Level of Patients with Diabetic Retinopathy: An Observational Descriptive Cross Sectional Study | ||||
| The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine | ||||
| Article 34, Volume 96, Issue 1, July 2024, Page 2553-2557 PDF (493.85 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejhm.2024.368095 | ||||
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| Abstract | ||||
| Background: Diabetic health literacy, encompassing knowledge, motivation, and the ability to access, understand, evaluate, and apply healthcare information, is a crucial non-clinical factor in diabetes management. Objective: To evaluate the health literacy levels in diabetic patients and its impact on retinal health, including a complete epidemiological profile of the participants. Subjects and Methods: This observational descriptive cross-sectional study included 500 Egyptian diabetic patients attending the Ophthalmology outpatient clinic at Al-Azhar University Hospitals from November 2022 to September 2023. Participants underwent a comprehensive evaluation including a specially designed questionnaire based on the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU), thorough medical history, complete ophthalmological examination, fundus photography, and laboratory tests as needed. Results: There was a statistically significant correlation between health literacy levels and education, BMI, treatment compliance, and the presence of retinopathy (p < 0.05). Among the patients, 320 (64%) had no retinopathy. The percentage of patients with adequate health literacy (excellent and sufficient) was 44.6%, while 55.4% had inadequate health literacy (problematic and inadequate). In patients with diabetic retinopathy, only 22.8% had adequate health literacy. For those with severe diabetic retinopathy, the percentage dropped to 9.2%. Among patients without diabetic retinopathy, 57% had adequate health literacy, whereas 43% had inadequate levels. Conclusion: Health literacy is significantly associated with diabetic retinopathy, treatment compliance, BMI, and education levels in diabetic patients. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Health literacy level; Diabetic Retinopathy; Ophthalmology clinic; Cairo; Al-Azhar University; Egypt | ||||
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