Relationship between Health Literacy and Medication Adherence of Turkish Cancer Patients Receiving Oral Chemotherapy

• Main Authors: Huri Seval Gönderen Çakmak (Author), Doğan Uncu (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Elsevier, 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2347-5625; 2349-6673; 10.4103/apjon.apjon_30_20
• Keywords: cancer; health literacy; medication adherence; oral agents; Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens; RC254-282; Nursing; RT1-120
• Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing, Vol 7, Iss 4, Pp 365-369 (2020)

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between health literacy and self-report medication adherence of Turkish cancer patients receiving oral chemotherapy. Methods: The present research was a descriptive and cross-sectional study and conducted with 100 voluntary cancer patients who were admitted to the medical oncology outpatient clinic and received oral chemotherapy. The data were collected through a questionnaire form consisting of the Oral Chemotherapy Adherence Scale and the Turkish Health Literacy Scale (TSOY-32). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient.Results: The results revealed that 57% of the patients were female, 35% were primary school graduates, 51% were breast cancer, and 36% took capecitabine. The mean index scores of the participants on both scales were calculated as 12.39 ± 1.51 and 73.25 ± 6.18, respectively. Overall, a positive and strong correlation was found between oral chemotherapy adherence and health literacy of the participants (r = 0.707, P = 0.000). Conclusions: Medication adherence and health literacy levels among the cancer patients in Turkey are alarming so that patient-centered interventions and training are required to overcome the barriers to medication adherence.