Investigation of health literacy level and its effect on quality of life in patients with spinal cord injury

This study examined the health literacy (HL) levels of individuals with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and how it relates to their quality of life (QoL). Health literacy refers to a person's ability to understand and use health information to make informed decisions. The researchers found that a significant portion of the participants had inadequate or problematic health literacy. Those with better health literacy reported a higher quality of life, particularly in areas related to vitality and mental health. The findings suggest that improving health literacy in SCI patients could positively impact their overall well-being. Healthcare providers should consider patients' health literacy levels to ensure effective rehabilitation and better QoL outcomes.

• 1
  The HL level was inadequate in 32.5%, problematic-limited in 40.3%, sufficient in 19.5%, and excellent in 7.8% of the patients.
• 2
  The vitality and mental health subdimensions of the QoL were found to be statistically significantly better in participants with excellent, sufficient or problematic-limited HL compared to those with an inadequate level.
• 3
  No significant difference was found between patients with different HLS-TR levels regarding the general health perception, physical functioning, emotional role difficulty, social functioning, and bodily pain subdimensions of the QoL.