Health literacy and successful aging among elderly patients at Kasr Alainy Hospital: a cross-sectional comparative study.

BACKGROUND

Population aging and chronic disease burden are increasing in Egypt. Health literacy (HL) may play a key role in promoting successful aging (SA), but evidence is limited.

AIM: To assess HL and SA and examine their association among elderly patients at Kasr Alainy Hospital.

METHODS

A cross-sectional comparative study of 246 participants (123 patients with chronic diseases and 123 healthy controls) aged ≥ 65 years was conducted using the Health Literacy Questionnaire and Successful Aging Scale.

RESULTS

Patients had significantly lower HL and SA scores than controls (p < 0.001). HL was positively correlated with SA (r = 0.612, p < 0.001) and remained the strongest independent predictor in regression analysis. Higher education and income improved SA, while age, rural residence, and smoking negatively affected it.

CONCLUSION

Future research should employ longitudinal designs, community-based probability sampling, fully validated Arabic versions of the instruments with reported psychometrics in the study population, and, ultimately, randomized evaluations of health-literacy interventions to establish whether improving HL improves successful-aging outcomes. Health literacy is strongly associated with successful aging among older adults in Egypt. Higher health literacy is associated with better aging outcomes; interventions to improve HL may therefore be beneficial.