Association between older people’s health literacy and sociodemographic aspects, functioning, happiness, and perception of the COVID-19 pandemic: a preliminary study

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze the association between older people’s health literacy and sociodemographic aspects, functioning, happiness, and perception of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a preliminary, cross-sectional, analytical, observational study with 37 older adults of both sexes. It used the Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria, WHODAS 2.0, SAHLPA-18, WHO-5 Well-Being Index, and Subjective Happiness Scale, estimated the perception of the pandemic through a questionnaire developed by the authors, and performed descriptive analysis, association analysis using the Pearson chi-square test, and Spearman correlation. Results: Most participants had inadequate functional health literacy (FHL) results. A higher percentage of individuals from social classes C and D-E had inadequate FHL. The low education level was associated with an inadequate FHL. Most participants with adequate FHL reported feeling “calm and relaxed” for more than half the time or all the time. The SAHLPA-18 score was weakly negatively correlated with the Cognition and Self-Care domains of WHODAS 2.0, indicating that better health literacy is associated with better cognitive and self-care conditions. Conclusion: Older people with better health literacy had better cognitive ability, better self-care management, higher education levels, and better quality of life.