Association between rational drug use and health literacy among pregnant women: a cross-sectional study

Pregnant women should know rational drug use and have enough health literacy both for maternal and fetal health. This study was carried out to examine the rational drug use knowledge and health literacy levels of pregnant women and the relationship between these two variables. A cross-sectional design was used in the study, and it was conducted between July 31 and September 30, 2019 with the participation of 417 pregnant women in Turkey. The cluster sampling method was used for selecting participants. The data collection tools included a Descriptive Information Form, the Rational Drug Use Scale, and the European Health Literacy Survey. The study data were collected by using the face-to-face interview method. In the study, 77.7 percent of the pregnant women knew rational drug use, but 41.2 percent of them had inadequate and 39.8 percent had a problematic-limited level of health literacy. According to the linear regression analysis, it was found that rational drug use was positively affected by the health literacy level and that a one-unit increase in health literacy level of pregnant women increased the level of rational drug use knowledge by 0.190 (beta) units (p < .05). It was found that although more than three quarters of the pregnant women in the study knew rational drug use, their health literacy was inadequate and at a problematic-limited level. This study showed that the health literacy of pregnant women affected their knowledge of rational drug use, and as the level of health literacy increased, the level of rational drug use knowledge increased, as well.