Investigating the Relationship Between Health Literacy and User Satisfaction with Primary Healthcare Services.

Abstract

Introduction: The concept of health literacy first emerged in the 1970s and has since evolved into a necessary condition for enhancing health promotion through improved education strategies, skills, and communication, contributing to strengthening healthcare systems. 

Purpose: This systematic review aims to identify the determinants of health literacy, as documented in relevant studies, in relation to user satisfaction with the provided care in primary healthcare settings.

Methodology: A systematic search was conducted (September-October 2024) in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, along with a manual search in the reference lists of relevant articles in Google Scholar to identify additional literature. The PRISMA 2020 guidelines were followed. Study selection was based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria using the PICOS method.  The initial search yielded 917 records, from which 254 duplicates were removed, and 650 articles were excluded due to being conducted in non-developed countries, having irrelevant topics, or failing to meet other inclusion criteria for this study.

Results: Six studies investigated the relationship between health literacy and patient satisfaction, confirming that higher health literacy levels are associated with greater patient satisfaction.  Several factors negatively affecting health literacy were identified, including old age, low educational level, socioeconomic factors, racial factors, and more.

Conclusions: Low levels of health literacy are linked to lower satisfaction among users of primary healthcare services.