Health Literacy in Iranian Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Elham Charoghchian Khorasani; Seyedeh Belin Tavakoly Sany; Arezoo Orooji; Gordon Ferns; Nooshin Peyman

Health Literacy in Iranian Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Iran J Public Health. 2020 May;49(5):860-874.

Authors

Elham Charoghchian Khorasani¹, Seyedeh Belin Tavakoly Sany², Arezoo Orooji³, Gordon Ferns⁴, Nooshin Peyman²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Student Research Committee, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
² Social Determinants of Health Research Center, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
³ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Student Research Committee, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁴ Department of Medical Education, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Brighton Falmer Campus, BN1 9PH, UK.

PMID: 32953674
PMCID: PMC7475634

Abstract

Background: Inadequate health literacy (HL) is associated with poorer health outcomes and worse health care. Up to one-half of Iranian women have difficulty in interpreting medical information, and national HL assessment has been limited in Iran. We have undertaken a systematic review of the literature and used a meta-analysis to examine the situation of HL status in Iranian women, and determine the relationship between HL and self-efficacy, and self-care behaviors.

Methods: Six databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Scientific Information Database) and other non-indexed citations were searched using a variety of keywords regarding HL and Iranian women. The bias risk was decreased by the involvement of two independent reviewers assessing study quality and eligibility of included articles.

Results: The average HL scores were in the range of marginal or limited (63.08; 95% CI, 59.83-66.32) in the Iranian women. The HL score was significantly higher among pregnant women (67.55; 95% CI, 32.54-82.57) and was lower in women with chronic disease (57.79; CI, 48.34-67.24). There was a significant association between HL and self-efficacy and self-care behaviors.

Conclusion: The average level of HL in the period of the review was marginal among Iranian women. The relationship of HL with self-efficacy and self-care behaviors was statistically significant but moderate.

Keywords: Health literacy; Iran; Meta-analysis; Self-care behaviors; Self-efficacy; Women.

Publication types

Review