Assessment of Health Literacy of Cosmetic Surgery Applicants: A Cross-Sectional Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Aidin Ahmadi 1
Fatemeh Torabi 2
Alireza Hashemian 3
Reza Vaghardoost 4
1 1. Assistant Professor, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Begsea t Hospital, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences, Hamedan, Iran
2 Iran University of Medical Sciences
3 Msc, medical librarianship and information, Faculty of Management and Information, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
4 4. Associate Professor, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Burn Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Hazrateh Fatemeh (S) Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10.48305/him.2024.42174.1146
Abstract
Introduction: The great interest in cosmetic surgeries and the possible risks of these types of surgeries make it necessary to pay attention to health literacy for the applicants of these types of surgeries in order to evaluate and make correct decisions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the level of health literacy of cosmetic surgery applicants
Methods: The research method is cross-sectional. The research sample includes 189 applicants for cosmetic surgery referring to Hazrat Fatemeh Teaching Hospital in Tehran, and the Iranian Adult Health Literacy Questionnaire (HELIA) was used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics and U-Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests were used for data analysis.
Results: The average health literacy of the participants was higher than the average of the questionnaire. The highest average is related to the understanding component (85.65) and the lowest average is related to access (76.60). There is a significant relationship between the average level of health literacy of women and men in the dimension of understanding and the average of health literacy. Also, there is a significant relationship between the level of health literacy and the level of education. Applicants with a higher education degree also have a higher level of health literacy. Also, the most sources of obtaining health information for applicants is the Internet (40.74 percent).
Conclusion: Although according to the results of the research, the health literacy level of the cosmetic surgery applicants was above average, but it is necessary to provide the necessary training on promoting health literacy among different groups, especially people with low literacy levels. Also, it is necessary to provide valid educational and advertising brochures in health and treatment centers for applicants

Highlights

Fatemeh Torabi:   PubMed

Alireza Hashemian: Google Scholar , PubMed

Reza Vaghardoost: Google Scholar , PubMed

Keywords

Subjects

  1. Von Soest T, Kvalem IL, Roald HE, Skolleborg KC. The effects of cosmetic surgery on body image, self-esteem, and psychological problems. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2009; 62(10):1238-44.
  2. Abbas OL, Karadavut U. Analysis of the Factors Affecting Men's Attitudes Toward Cosmetic Surgery: Body Image, Media Exposure, Social Network Use, Masculine Gender Role Stress and Religious Attitudes. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2017;41(6):1454-62.
  3. Swami V, Taylor R, Carvalho C. Acceptance of cosmetic surgery and celebrity worship: Evidence of associations among female undergraduates. Personality and Individual Differences. 2009;47(8):869-72.
  4. Sarwer DB, Cash TF, Magee L, Williams EF, Thompson JK, Roehrig M, et al. Female college students and cosmetic surgery: an investigation of experiences, attitudes, and body image. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2005;115(3):931-8.
  5. Hosaini Z, Karbalaee Mohammad Meigouni A, Geramipor M. Structural model of relationships between body image, illogical beliefs, mental health in applicants of cosmetic surgery. Thoughts and Behavior in Clinical Psychology. 2018 Jun 22;13(48):17-26.
  6. Tajvar M, Pourfarokh P, Bahmanziari N, Jaafaripooyan E, Nazari M, Sajadi HS. Management of cosmetic surgery in Iran: challenges and solutions. Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal. 2023 Mar 10;81(1):38-48.
  7. Vahdaninia Z, Abdolrazaqnejad M, Vahdaninia V, Bagher Najad Hesari F, Eazami E. Survey of the Level of Health Literacy of Clerics of Birjand in the Year 2019. Health Inf Manage 2022; 19(2): 104-108.
  8. Beer K, Lupo MP. Making the right choices: attaining predictable aesthetic results with dermal fillers. J Drugs Dermatol. 2010;9(5):458-65.
  9. Bustos VP, Haddad A, Kinney JR, Xun H, Nassar AH, Lee T, et al. Evaluation of Health Literacy in Plastic Surgery Using a Crowdsourced Patient Survey. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open. 2023;11(2).
  10. Haas CF, Champion A, Secor D. Motivating factors for seeking cosmetic surgery: a synthesis of the literature. Plast Surg Nurs. 2008;28(4):177-82.
  11. Vargas CR, Ricci JA, Chuang DJ, Lee BT. Online Patient Resources for Liposuction: A Comparative Analysis of Readability. Ann Plast Surg. 2016;76(3):349-54.
  12. Phillips NA, Vargas CR, Chuang DJ, Lee BT. Readability Assessment of Online Patient Abdominoplasty Resources. Aesthetic Plast Surg. 2015;39(1):147-53.
  13. Tiourin E, Barton N, Janis JE. Health Literacy in Plastic Surgery: A Scoping Review. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2022;10(4):e4247.
  14. Warren H. Promoting Health Literacy in the Nonsurgical Cosmetic Patient. Plast Surg Nurs. 2016;36(2):78-80.
  15. Ismail IK, Burns S, Rezak K, Adetayo O, Agag R, Roth MZ, et al. An Evaluation of Health Literacy in Plastic Surgery Patients. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. 2015; 136(4S):59.
  16. Vargas CR, Chuang DJ, Lee BT. Assessment of patient health literacy: a national survey of plastic surgeons. Plastic and reconstructive surgery. 2014 Dec 1;134(6):1405-14.
  17. İlhan N, Telli S, Temel B, Aştı T. Health literacy and diabetes self-care in individuals with type 2 diabetes in Turkey. Primary care diabetes. 2021 Feb 1;15(1):74-9.
  18. Roy M, Corkum JP, Urbach DR, Novak CB, von Schroeder HP, McCabe SJ, et al. Health Literacy Among Surgical Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. World journal of surgery. 2019;43(1):96-106.
  19. Barton N, Janis JE. Missing the Mark: The State of Health Care Literacy in Plastic Surgery. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2020;8(5):e2856.
  20. Sundell E, Wångdahl J, Grauman Å. Health literacy and digital health information-seeking behavior - a cross-sectional study among highly educated Swedes. BMC Public Health. 2022;22(1):2278.
  21. Ranjbaran S, Chollou KM, Babazadeh T. Assessment of Health Literacy and Health Promoting Behaviors among the Urban Adult Population. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2022;32(5):985-92.
  22. Danesh Y. Investigating the effective factors on the tendency to cosmetic surgery among female students in Hormozgan University. QJSD. 2016;1(2):62-79.
  23. Schiavone S, Attena F. Measuring Health Literacy in Southern Italy: A cross-sectional study. PloS one. 2020;15(8):e0236963.
  24. Montazeri A, Tavousi M, Rakhshani F, Azin S, Jahangiri K, Ebadi M, et al. Health Literacy for Iranian Adults (HELIA): development and psychometric properties. Payesh. 2014;13(5):589-99. [In Persian].
  25. Bidkhori M, Yaseri M, Sari AA, Majdzadeh R. Relationship between socioeconomic factors and incidence of cosmetic surgery in Tehran, Iran. Iranian journal of public health. 2021 Feb;50(2):360.
  26. Ziapour A, Azar FE, Mahaki B, Mansourian M. Factors affecting the health literacy status of patients with type 2 diabetes through demographic variables: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Education and Health Promotion. 2022;11:306.
  27. Nair SC, Sreedharan J, Satish KP, Ibrahim H. Health literacy in a high income Arab country: A nation-wide cross-sectional survey study. PloS one. 2022;17(10):e0275579.

García-García D, Pérez-Rivas FJ. Health Literacy and Its Sociodemographic Predictors: A Cross-Sectional Study of a Population in Madrid (Spain). Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(18):11815