The effect of health literacy on mother's knowledge of moisturizers and atopic eczema in children

The Effect of Health Literacy on Mother's Knowledge of Moisturizers and Atopic Eczema in Children Introduction and Purpose: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, recurrent, itchy and inflammatory skin disease usually seen in individuals with atopic tendencies and affects 20-25% of children and 2-3% of adults. It is understood that parental health literacy and sociodemographic factors positively affect disease knowledge, treatment and outcomes in many allergic diseases. In this study, it was aimed to measure the health literacy and digital literacy of parents of children diagnosed with AD in the Pediatric Allergy Outpatient Clinic of Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, to reveal the sociodemographic factors affecting these literacies, and to reveal the relationship between literacy levels and the level of knowledge of families about atopic eczema and skin care with moisturizers. Materials and Methods: Parents of children who were diagnosed with atopic (dermatitis) eczema by history, physical examination, and laboratory tests in Dicle University Faculty of Medicine Pediatric Allergy Outpatient Clinic between 1 January 2023 and 1 May 2023 in Diyarbakır province were invited to participate in the study. Parents of children aged 1 month to 18 years were included in the study. Results: The study included 100 patients and their parents. The median age of the patients was nine months and more than half (64%) were female. The median age of the mothers was 30 years, most of them were university graduates (50%) and unemployed (76%). The most common source of information used by parents about AD in their children was physicians (76%). Most of the mothers used regular moisturizer (88%), regular bath oil (86%) and anti-allergic shampoo (70%) daily. When the correct answers given to the questions measuring the level of AD and skin care knowledge of the participants were evaluated, it was found that the level of AD knowledge was partially sufficient in most of them (51%) and the level of skin care knowledge was partially sufficient in most of them (53%). The median Health Literacy Scale score of the participants was 33.3, the median AD knowledge level score was seven, and the median AD moisturizer correct use score was four. A statistically significant relationship was found between the health literacy score and maternal education level (p=0.036, r=0.21) in a positive direction and a negative relationship with maternal age (p=0.009, r=-0.26). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the participants' AD knowledge level and skin care knowledge level score (p=0.018, r=0.24). Conclusion: Health literacy empowers individuals in health-related decision-making processes and encourages active participation in health improvement efforts. There is a need for multicentre and randomized controlled studies involving a larger number of parents of children with AD. Keywords: health literacy, child, moisturizers, atopic dermatitis.