Relationship Between Health Literacy, Quality of Life, and Treatment Adherence in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndrome is a significant global health concern that can affect patients' health outcomes and quality of life. In addition, adherence to treatment and health literacy can affect health outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between treatment adherence, health literacy, and quality of life among patients with acute coronary syndrome. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 407 patients in Iran from April 2019 to November 2019. Patients were selected by convenience sampling method. Data were collected using demographic questionnaire, World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version, Adherence to Treatment Questionnaire, and Health Literacy for Iranian Adults questionnaire. SPSS 25 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Based on descriptive statistics in this study, most of the participants had good treatment adherence level (56.5%); 28.7% of the participants had insufficient health literacy level. The mean score of quality of life was 51.41 ± 12.03, which was greater than the midpoint of the questionnaire. Furthermore, Pearson's correlation coefficient showed a negative association between health literacy, treatment adherence (r = -0.167, p < .01), and quality of life (r = -0.153, p < .01), and a positive association between treatment adherence and quality of life (r = 0.169, p < .01). CONCLUSION: The results of the current study showed a negative relationship between health literacy, quality of life, and treatment adherence among patients with acute coronary syndrome. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2023;7(2):e71-e79.].