Association of Individual Health Literacy with Preventive Behaviours and Family Well-Being during COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediating Role of Family Information Sharing.

Janet Yuen Ha Wong,Abraham Ka Chung Wai,Faustina Yip,Tai Hing Lam,Carlos King Ho Wong,Shengzhi Zhao,Man Ping Wang,Jung Jae Lee

doi:10.3390/ijerph17238838

Janet Yuen Ha Wong, Abraham Ka Chung Wai + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238838

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Abstract

Objective: We tested a model of individual health literacy information sharing with family members, personal preventive behaviours and family well-being during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Hong Kong. Methods: We analysed data of 1501 randomly selected Chinese adults from a cross-sectional survey in Hong Kong from 9 to 23 April, 2020. Individual health literacy about COVID-19 with the items extracted from the questionnaire in World Health Organization Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Action Plan Guidance for COVID-19 preparedness and response, COVID-19 information sharing with family members, preventive behaviours against COVID-19 and family well-being were measured. Structural equation modelling analysis tested the proposed model. Findings: COVID-19 information sharing with family members partially mediated the association between individual health literacy and personal preventive behaviours. The direct effect of 0.24 was shown, and the indirect effect through COVID-19 information sharing with family members was small at 0.03 (Z = 3.66, p < 0.001). Family well-being was associated with personal preventive behaviours against COVID-19. The model was adjusted for sex, age, and socioeconomic status factors and had good fit with RMSEA = 0.04, CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.96, and SRMR = 0.02. Conclusion: COVID-19 information sharing with family members was a partial mediator between individual health literacy and personal preventive behaviours against COVID-19. Strategies for enhancing health literacy and preventive measures against COVID-19 are needed to promote family well-being in the pandemic.

Highlights

To fight against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the public’s health literacy and engagement in preventive measures, and vigilance about the disease and infection control, are essential [1]
In Model A, structural equation models (SEM) examined the pathway between individual health literacy and personal preventive behaviours via COVID-19 information sharing with family members according to the procedures described in Preacher and Hayes [16]
Wear a fabric mask when going out COVID-19 information sharing with family members was associated with individual health literacy (Pearson’s r = 0.28, p < 0.0001) and associated with personal preventive behaviours (Pearson’s r = 0.21, p < 0.0001)

Summary

Introduction

To fight against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the public’s health literacy and engagement in preventive measures, and vigilance about the disease and infection control, are essential [1]. Health literacy refers to the ability of people to access, understand and use information to make decisions related to their health [2]. It is an individual autonomous set of knowledge, and one. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 8838; doi:10.3390/ijerph17238838 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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