Background and Objective: Health literacy encompasses the knowledge, motivation, and skills required to access health information. This study aimed to assess the level of health literacy among people living with HIV (PLHIV) enrolled in the active cohort of the Day Hospital at Yalgado Ouédraogo University Hospital (CHU-YO).
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December 1, 2024, to January 30, 2025, among 330 people living with HIV selected by convenience sampling at the day hospital of the CHU-YO; health literacy was assessed using the nine dimensions of the health literacy questionnaire (developed by Professor Richard Osborne and colleagues) and a socio-demographic and medical form, with data collected via KoboToolbox and analyzed with Excel. Using hierarchical classification, a multidimensional descriptive analysis was performed to form groups of patients based on their individual scores in the 9 dimensions of the HLQ. This method identified the patient profiles associated with each level of literacy.
Results: A total of 330 PLHIV were included, with a mean age of 49.03 years. The nine HLQ dimensions were used to evaluate health literacy levels. The findings showed that participants demonstrated good active management of their health (mean score: 3.17) and a strong ability to obtain good health information (3.71). However, they faced difficulties in understanding and critically appraising health information, with mean scores of 3.54 and 2.61, respectively. An exploratory multidimensional analysis identified eight health literacy profiles, labeled A to H, with group D having the highest scores and group F the lowest.
Conclusion: This study provides an overview of the health literacy levels of PLHIV at the Day Hospital in 2024. While they demonstrated the ability to seek health information and actively manage their health, they encountered challenges in understanding and evaluating health information. |
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