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Updated: Nov 23, 2025

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
[Association between health literacy and adherence to medications among older adults]
Carla Soledad Figueroa Saavedra1, Tamara Francisca Otzen Hernández2, Viviana Figueroa Delgado1
1Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Temuco, Chile.
Background:
Lack of compliance with medication prescription is common among older adults and hamper an adequate management of chronic conditions.
Aim:
To study the association between health literacy and medication adherence in older adults with chronic diseases in Temuco, Chile.
Material And Methods:
The Health Literacy survey for Spanish-speaking Adults, MiniMental examination and the Morisky-Green test to assess compliance with medication prescription were applied to 119 older adults aged 60 to 88 years.
Results:
All participants had an adequate global cognitive performance; 24% had inadequate literacy, and 42% did not comply with medication prescription. There was a significant correlation between health literacy and medication adherence.
Conclusions:
Health literacy influences medication adherence in Chilean older adults.
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