The impact of health literacy in adherence to medications in a population with acute lumbar pain: a cross-sectional study

Background
Acute lumbar pain is a common symptom. Generally, it has a good prognosis although presenting a great impact on quality of life, thus the importance of therapeutic guidance. Health literacy allows individuals to manage their own health and make the best choices, including the adherence to medication plans.

Objectives
We aim to evaluate the impact of health literacy in the adherence to medications in patients with acute lumbar pain.

Material and methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study based on an online self-report questionnaire from January 2022 to March 2022 to characterise the type of acute lumbar pain, adherence to medications, health literacy and other factors that could influence this, including comorbidities and socio-demographic information.

Results
A total of 249 participants with acute lumbar pain were included (68% females, mean age of 41 years). The utilisation of pain relief medication was indicated by 41% of the participants (50% by medical prescription), with good adherence in 84.4% (95% CI: 76.8–92.1%). Taking pain relief medication was not associated with literacy but with the impact of pain (p = 0.020).

Conclusions
Adherence to medications in patients with acute lumbar pain depends mostly on the perceived impact of the pain itself rather than on literacy for health. The ability to apply the available information in health care increases the adherence.