Acceptance of illness mediate the effects of health literacy on self-management behaviour

Abstract

Background: Self-management is crucial for blood pressure control and subsequent disease prevention. Health literacy and acceptance of illness may contribute to self-management behaviour; in addition, acceptance of illness may mediate the effects of health literacy on self-management behaviour among patients with hypertension. Objective: The aims of the research were to examine whether health literacy and acceptance of illness were associated with both pharmacological and non-pharmacological management behaviour and examine the possible mediating effects of the acceptance of illness in patients with hypertension. Methods: Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to analyse the relationships between health literacy, acceptance of illness, pharmacological and non-pharmacological management behaviours. Mediation effects were examined by the PROCESS macro. Results: This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 478 hypertensive patients completed measures of health literacy, acceptance of illness, self-management, social support, depression, physical function and demographic and clinical characteristics. Functional, communicative, critical health literacy and acceptance of illness showed positive associations to pharmacological and non-pharmacological management behaviour. Acceptance of illness mediated the relationships between three types of health literacy, pharmacological and non-pharmacological management but the effects size and pathway differed. In detail, functional health literacy influenced pharmacological and non-pharmacological management behaviour mainly by indirect effects mediated by the acceptance of illness, but communicative and critical health literacy influenced pharmacological and non-pharmacological management behaviour mainly by direct effects. Conclusions: Acceptance of illness mediated the relationships between three types of health literacy and self-management. Health literacy and acceptance of illness should be addressed when taking measures to improve patients’ self-management behaviour.

The Relationship between Diabetes Family Conflict and Parental Conflict on Problem Recognition in Illness Self-Management among Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

“…When patients with chronic diseases accept the disease, pain, depression, and anxiety decrease, and physical well-being and quality of life improve [41]. Moreover, self-management behavior increases [42]. These are all consistent with the current results.…”

Health Literacy for Cardiac Rehabilitation: An Examination of Associated Illness Perceptions, Self-Efficacy, Motivation and Physical Activity

“…We are able to extend this finding by adding psychological measures that show distinct differences in self-efficacy, motivation and illness perceptions between clusters when patients are grouped solely on health literacy responses. This shows promise as an effective avenue for self-management interventions, as acceptance of the condition has previously been shown to mediate health literacy in self-management of hypertension [43].…”

Factors determining acceptance of illness in patients with arterial hypertension and comorbidities

“…In our observation, men with high illness acceptance were much more likely to declare that they complied with medical advice and take their prescribed medications regularly. A study by Chinese authors similarly showed a positive correlation between illness acceptance and pro-health behaviour in terms of the non-pharmacological and pharmacological management of arterial hypertension [20].…”