Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 27, 2025

Author Spotlight: Developing a Point-of-Care Hemoglobin Estimation Method for Anemia Management
Published on: January 19, 2024
Decomposing Socioeconomic Inequality in Health Literacy in Iran: A Concentration Index Approach
Amir Almasi-Hashiani1, Mahmoud Abbasi2, Mohammad Tavakol3
1Department of Epidemiology, School of Health, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
Background:
Health literacy is a major factor for health promotion and well-being. In spite of several researches on health literacy, information on the subject of the status of health literacy in Asian countries such as Iran is inadequate. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the inequality of health literacy in an Iranian population and its influencing factors.
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, 736 families were selected by cluster random sampling. A validated questionnaire was used to measure the health literacy of participants. Socioeconomic status (SES) was calculated by asset-based approach, and principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to estimate the families' SES. Concentration index and curve were used to measure SES inequality in health literacy, and after that decomposed into its determinants. The data were analyzed by Stata software.
Results:
The mean age of the participants was 34.81 years (standard deviation = 5.98 years). The value of concentration index for health literacy equals 0.2292 (95% confidence interval = 0.168-0.283), and this value indicates that there is inequality in distribution of health literacy in Iran and the inequality disfavors the poor.
Conclusions:
The results of this study revealed that there is inequality in distribution of health literacy in Iran, and people of higher economic status in Iran enjoy from better health literacy levels.
Related Concept Videos
Health Literacy
Methods Of Healthcare Delivery System
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is...
Inequalities
Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
Factors Affecting Illness
For instance, risk factors are connected to illness,...
Dimensions of Health and Illness

