Background
Cancer presents challenges for patients due to its complexity and treatment demands, resulting in a low quality of life. Patients must manage amounts of information, and make care decisions. Health Literacy (HL) may be key to managing these challenges. Existing research suggests an association between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and HL in cancer patients. However, there remains a limited understanding of how dimensions of HRQOL associate with aspects of HL.
Aims
Investigate associations between domains of HRQOL and multidimensional HL in cancer patients while controlling for demographic and clinical variables.
Methods
A cross‑sectional study was conducted at a hospital in Oslo, Norway (2020 to 2022). Patient‑reported measures included HLQ (HL), FACT‑G (HRQOL), EORTC‑OH15 (oral QOL), and sociodemographic data. Clinical data were obtained from questionnaires and medical records. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed
Results
We included 54 men and 63 women with cancer at a hospital outpatient clinic (mean age 61 years). Multivariable analysis on the association between HRQOL and HL, controlling for demographic and clinical variables, was performed. Significant associations were found between multiple HL domains, younger age, and fewer comorbidities (St. β ranged −0.20 to −0.39, p ranged .04 to <.001), explaining 6–20% of the variance. No associations with gender, [...]