Health literacy and unintended pregnancy among rural Iranian women

Health literacy is a significant element in the ability of a woman to engage in health promotion and preventive activities both for herself and her children. This study aimed to evaluate health literacy and the rate of unintended pregnancies, as well as the relationship between health literacy and unintended pregnancies among rural Iranian married women. This study was conducted on 240 rural married women aged 18 to 45 years. To collect data, the Persian version of the test of functional health literacy in adults and a checklist of demographic characteristics and unintended pregnancy were used. Approximately, 62% of the women studied had low literacy level (marginal and inadequate) and the rate of unintended pregnancies was 35%. A significant correlation was observed between health literacy level and education level, age, number of children, and unintended pregnancy. Then, the level of health literacy was low among rural married women and this factor was associated with their unintended pregnancies.