Objective To analyze the changes of health literacy level of hypertensive patients in Hainan Province from 2019 to 2023, and provide theoretical basis for formulating hypertension prevention and treatment and self-health management policies.

Methods From 2019 to 2023, stratified multi-stage sampling methods were adopted to select permanent residents aged 15 to 69 in Hainan Province for household questionnaire surveys. Those who self-reported having hypertension were taken as the research subjects. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the main factors affecting the health literacy level of hypertensive patients.

Results From 2019 to 2023, 12 640, 11 884, 11 842, 11 390 and 11 948 people were investigated respectively, totaling 59 704 people. Among them, 799, 625, 912, 921 and 1 034 people reported having hypertension respectively, and a total of 4 291 people were included in the study. The overall health literacy levels of hypertensive patients in Hainan Province from 2019 to 2023 were 7.88%, 10.24%, 11.07%, 13.03% and 17.79%, respectively, showing an increasing trend (χ²_trend=43.409, Ρ＜0.001). Logistic regression showed that the health literacy level of the 45 to ＜55 age group (compared with that of the 65 to 69 age group, OR=1.576, 95%CI 1.162 to 2.137), the college/ university and above group (compared with the illiterate/poorly literate group, OR=6.511, 95%CI 3.386 to 12.521), and government agencies and public institutions (compared with that of farmers, OR=2.779, 95%CI 2.034 to 3.796) was higher.

Conclusion From 2019 to 2023, the health literacy level of hypertensive patients in Hainan Province showed a steady upward trend. Farmers, the elderly, and people with low educational levels were the groups with low health literacy levels.