Introduction:

Health literacy improves population health and enables better use of services. This dimension of health outcomes is particularly relevant when applied to chronic disease management, due to its potential impact on morbidity and mortality and quality of life.

Objetive:

To identify the levels and determine the predictors of health literacy in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Methods:

A non-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study was conducted at the Clarification Consultation of the Dialysis Unit of the Centro Hospitalar Tondela Viseu. Data analysis was based on descriptive statistics and a multivariate linear regression model was performed using the Forward method.

Results:

We included 125 patients, mostly males (65.4%), with a mean age of 63.46 years (±14.64 years). Problematic health literacy prevails (35.5%), followed by inadequate health literacy (31.5%). Higher levels of inadequate health literacy (36.4%) prevail among females, and problematic health literacy (36.2%) among males. Education and gender are predictors of health literacy with moderate to low positive effects (β=0.47 and β=0.13, respectively) and age with low negative effects (β=-0.20).

Conclusion:

The implementation of strategies that promote more health literacy in people with chronic kidney disease, particularly women and patients with lower educational attainment and older age, is considered essential to achieve better health outcomes.

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