Relação entre letramento em saúde e qualidade de vida dos cuidadores de lactentes prematuros

Abstract

Introduction: Studies indicate that low levels of health literacy hinder the use of health services and may compromise quality of life. Although the relationship between health literacy and quality of life is well established for individuals themselves, there are gaps regarding this correlation in the context of child care. Therefore, the following question arises: Is parental health literacy among mothers of premature infants correlated with their quality of life? Objective: To examine the correlation between parental health literacy and quality of life among mothers of premature infants. Methods: This cross-sectional study, nested within a cohort, was conducted in a follow-up clinic for children at high risk for developmental delay, including 68 mothers who were the primary caregivers of premature infants under five months of corrected age. Data collection involved socioeconomic and demographic questionnaires, along with the WHOQOL-BREF and the Parental Health Literacy Activities Test. Differences in quality-of-life and health-literacy scores were assessed using Student’s t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey post-hoc tests. Correlation was tested using Pearson’s bivariate analysis. Results: The mothers had a mean age of 28 years, most were married or in stable unions, had completed high school, did not engage in paid work, and half lived in poverty. Approximately 40% reported financial difficulties after the infant’s birth, and 29.7% stopped working due to the infant’s health condition. The mothers’ mean total health literacy score was 12.5 (SD 2.7), considered low, with significant differences according to education level, economic status, and parity. The mean total quality-of-life score was 94.0 (SD 11.9), considered a positive perception, with statistically significant differences by age, financial difficulties, economic status, and having to stop working. The overall correlation between health literacy and quality of life was 0.22 (p = 0.858), while mothers of twins showed a stronger correlation of 0.74 (p = 0.033). Conclusion: No significant correlation was found between parental health literacy and quality of life among mothers of premature infants, except for mothers of twins, in whom a positive and significant correlation was observed. These findings suggest that socioeconomic factors such as education, income, and employment status play an important role in both health literacy and quality of life, highlighting the need for integrated public policies that address these dimensions in maternal and child care.