Health Literacy And Pregnancy Surveillance

Abstract

Health literacy is a determinant of health and quality of life. During pregnancy, one can identify symptoms that may affect the evolution of the pregnancy. The objectives of the study were to determine the level of literacy in the health of pregnant women, and identify the sociodemographic, obstetric and prenatal care variables associated with the level of literacy in the health of pregnant women. The methods involved a a cross-sectional study, using a quantitative, descriptive and correlational approach with nonprobabilistic sample, intended for convenience (n = 404 pregnant women) with a mean age of 32 years. The collection of data was carried out by applying a questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic questions, obstetrical questions and the HLS-EU-EN-scale (National School of Public Health, 2014). Using the HLS-EU-EN scale, 36.9% of pregnant women presented a problematic level of health literacy. However, a sufficient level of literacy about care was shown in 40.1% of the women, about prevention of diseases in 39.9% and about health promotion in 38.4%. The health literacy during pregnancy is influenced by nationality (p = 0.048), place of residence (p = 0.000), educational level (p = 0.000), family income (p = 0.000), internet within the household (p = 0.000), planning and desire of pregnancy (p <0.05) preparation course for childbirth/parenting (p = 0.000), prenatal care (p = 0.000) and early prenatal care before 12 weeks (p = 0.000). We obtained a problematic level of Literacy in Health that was associated with several sociodemographic and obstetric variables. This improved the result in pregnancy, which is essential for healthy motherhood and includes the development of skills and knowledge so that the pregnant woman has decision-making power and autonomy to make free and informed decisions.