Exploring the relationship between health literacy and stress levels in caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

Low health literacy is under-recognized and prevalent in healthcare. Health literacy greatly impacts health outcomes because it affects health knowledge, health status, and access to health services. Having adequate health literacy is fundamental to making informed decisions. Caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease are often the decision makers and that responsibility increases the burden of caregiving over time. Many studies have shown that caregiving itself causes stress. Specifically, caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease reports extreme physical, emotional, and psychosocial distress due to the demands of caregiving. Additionally, many studies also show that caregivers have low health literacy. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between health literacy and stress levels in caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. This knowledge is significant to Advanced Practice Nursing. The findings may support the development of strategies to increase health literacy, which may reduce caregivers stress, thereby, improve health outcomes and quality of life for caregivers and care recipients.