Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the health literacy of inpatients at general hospitals.
METHODS
The sample of this study was 157 inpatients from secondary general hospitals located in a J city during April 1st to April 15th, 2011. The linguistic health literacy was measured by Korean Health Literacy Assessment Tool (KHLAT). The functional health literacy was measured by Korean Functional Health Literacy Test (KFHLT).
RESULTS
The mean score of the linguistic health literacy was 36.03+/-16.33 (percent of correct answer: 54.6%). The mean score of the functional health literacy was 9.62+/-4.75 (percent of correct answer: 56.6%). The linguistic and functional health literacy were by age, education level, marital status, socioeconomic status and their health status. There was statistically a significant correlation between the linguistic health literacy and the functional health literacy (r=.75, p<.001).
CONCLUSION
The health literacy of inpatients was strongly related to education level and age. There is a need to develop the educational materials for adjusting the health literacy level of inpatients.