The Effectiveness of Health Literacy Based Educational Intervention on Nutritional Outcomes of Elderly

Objectives: Health literacy is one of the most important social determinants of elderly health. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the educational intervention on knowledge, attitude, and nutritional behaviors of the elderly with adequate health literacy and inadequate health literacy. Methods & Materials: An experimental study was conducted with 192 people 60 years and older in Ilam Province, Iran, from May to September 2016. The elderly were assigned into four groups (48 subjects in each group), including two intervention groups with adequate and inadequate health literacy and two control groups with sufficient and insufficient health literacy. The elderly nutrition education program consisted of four lecture sessions with questions and answers, along with an elderly nutrition manual for the intervention group. The level of health literacy among the elderly was assessed using functional health literacy in adults. The level of knowledge, attitude, and nutritional behaviors was assessed using a researcher-made questionnaire in two stages before and two months after the educational intervention. The SPSS V. 21 was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square, paired t test, and Fisher exact test were used for data analysis. Results: The Mean +/- SD age of the men was 61.24 +/- 2.38 years, and the mean +/- SD age of women was 61.35 +/- 2.45 years. The majority of men with adequate health literacy were men (84.37%), while the proportion of men and women in those with inadequate health literacy was almost the same. All participants with adequate health literacy and 89.58% of those with inadequate health literacy were married. After the educational intervention, the mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and behavior in the intervention group with adequate health literacy increased significantly (P <= 0.013, P <= 0.015, and P<0.001, respectively). In the intervention group with inadequate health literacy, only the knowledge mean score after the intervention showed a significant increase (P <= 0.035). However, there was no significant change in the mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and behavior in both control groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: According to the study Results, the effectiveness of the educational intervention in relation to nutrition of the elderly is significantly influenced by the level of health literacy.