Relationship between Health Literacy in Disease Prevention and Quality of Life of Older People in the Region Public Health of Thailand

Objective: To examine relationship between health literacy (HL) in disease prevention associated with the quality of life (QOL) of the older people. Materials and Methods: Three hundred sixty elderly persons aged 60 to 80 years living in the Health District 7 of Thailand were included in this study. The subjects were randomized by the multi-stage sampling technique. The data were collected using the HL in disease prevention and WHOQOL-OLD questionnaire. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The results showed that most of the HL in disease prevention was in the sufficient to excellent level at 71.67%, and most of the QOL was in the good level at 85.84%. The factors relating to the QOL in the elderly included HL in disease prevention at a sufficient to excellent level (adjusted OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.18 to 3.99, p=0.013). Conclusion: HL in disease prevention is associated with QOL in the older people. Therefore, HL in disease prevention among the older people should be continually strengthened to have a good QOL as long as possible in old age. Keywords: Health Literacy; Quality of Life; Older people; Associated factors