Health Literacy of Patients Attending Cardiac Rehabilitation

Abstract

Purpose: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is effective at reducing further cardiac events. However, dropout rates are high, and maintenance of behavioral change post-CR is challenging. Health literacy (HL) may influence self-management of cardiac risk, yet few studies have explored this association. This study aimed to describe HL among CR attendees; first to describe the HL profiles of people commencing CR and second to examine HL changes between program entry and completion. Methods: CR attendees in Melbourne, Australia, completed the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) at program admission and completion. The HLQ measures HL across 9 scales. Cluster analysis grouped participants according to t..