Health literacy of adolescents using hormonal contraceptives and associated factors.
Marcela Ariadne Braga Gomes Tomé, Marcela Matias Sena, Mariana Cavalcante Martins and 5 others
PMID 42339923WHAT IT FOUND
Most adolescents using hormonal contraceptives had high health literacy, but more than half struggled to read and understand the medication leaflet.
Nurses should check leaflet comprehension rather than assume the leaflet was understood.
Key findings
01Of 147 adolescents assessed, 118 (80.3%) had high health literacy and 29 (19.7%) had low literacy.
02More than half of adolescents had difficulty reading and understanding the hormonal contraceptive package insert.
03Health literacy was significantly associated with age group, head of household, living situation, and contraceptive use duration, and the total score was inversely correlated with age (rs=-0.218; p=0.008).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that age, family structure, or contraceptive use duration caused low health literacy. The sample was convenience-based and came from public high schools in one municipality, so it may not apply to other schools or adolescents. Pandemic restrictions changed data collection to online and school principals were reluctant, reducing participation. The final sample had a narrow age range and was predominantly 15 to 17 years old. The HLS-14 was originally developed for diabetes patients and later modified for general population, not specifically for adolescents using contraceptives. The main outcome was health literacy level, not a measured contraceptive use or pregnancy outcome. No intervention was tested, so it does not show that communication strategies improve contraceptive use.
Declared interests
The paper reported funding support from CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Brazil). It did not report conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that adolescents using hormonal contraceptives are fully prepared to use them safely. Although 80.3% scored high on overall health literacy, more than half had low functional literacy and difficulty reading the contraceptive package insert.