Health literacy: application of SAHLPA-18 in patients with acute coronary syndrome

Aim: To evaluate the health literacy (HL) of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) admitted to a public hospital of high complexity in the interior of Minas Gerais, Brazil, through the application of the instrument Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Portuguese Speaking Adults (SAHLPA)-18. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study, from the Good Clinical Practices (GCP) project developed in a tertiary hospital. The 175 patients with ACS were analyzed, in which the profile and the SAHLPA-18 were evaluated. Results: It was found that 55.43% (97 among 175; 95% CI: 48.07–62.79) were considered with inadequate HL, and 40.00% of patients who have completed elementary school or higher education had inadequate HL (36 among 90). Female sex and complete primary education or higher increased the HL, and diabetes decreased the HL. Conclusions: We observed low literacy even in the presence of formal education, which, combined with the presence of diabetes, may represent a risk to patients with ACS, highlighting the need for continuous health education in this group regardless of the profile.