Beyond Stress: Critical Role of Mental Health Literacy in Women's Vulnerability to Generalized Anxiety

BACKGROUND:Health literacy is the capacity to acquire, process, and understand basic information and services necessary for appropriate health decisions. Given the importance of health literacy in women, the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of health literacy level on improving the quality of care during pregnancy in pregnant women.MATERIALS AND METHODS:The present study was a cross-sectional analytical study. In this study, 130 women referred to Yazd health centers were examined. Health literacy questionnaires and a researcher-made checklist of the quality of pregnancy care were used to gather information. The researcher-made checklist of the quality of pregnancy care was in accordance with the standard protocol of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, entitled Integrated Health Care for Pregnant Mothers, which was validated and reliable. SPSS statistical software version 19 and t-test and ANOVA statistical tests were used to analyze the data.RESULTS:According to the findings, the average score of health literacy in pregnant women was 74.09, which showed that the level of health literacy was in the marginal or border range. People with higher health literacy received significantly more prenatal counseling than other women and had a planned pregnancy (P = 0.04).CONCLUSION:The level of health literacy in pregnant women is unfavorable. Given that the high level of health literacy in women in society can lead to an increase in the quality of pregnancy care, so to increase health literacy in women, it is recommended that regular training in society by health-care providers be given more attention.

Introduction: Health literacy of women can significantly affect different aspects of reproductive health. The aim of this study was the assessment of relationship of health literacy, socio-demographic characteristics and reproductive health behaviors of women in Serbia.Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study on a random sample of women aged 18 and over from the territories of three Serbian regions, stratified according to age groups, region and type of settlement. A standardized version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) was used in assessing health literacy of women.Results: Based on the calculated index of health literacy, 9.6% of respondents had inadequate health literacy. Inadequate levels of health literacy were more common in women living in rural areas (OR = 1.111) and the poorer classes (OR = 5.122). Employed women (OP = 1.249), with good health (OR = 1.512) with a degree (OR = 1.535) had bigger odds to have adequate health literacy. Multivariate regression analysis showed the following significant predictors: commitment to the chosen gynecologist (OR = 1.530), contraceptive use (OR = 1.020), knowledge of the damages that could be caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) (OR = 1.578), awareness of vaccine availability against HPV infection (OR = 1.217) and following the health-related topics (OR = 2.350).Conclusion: Limited levels of health literacy were significantly higher among middle-aged women, among those living in rural areas, among women who rated their health as poor or very poor, and who exhibited more negative patterns of reproductive health behavior, indicating the need for implementation of prevention programs and strategies with the aim of increasing the level of health literacy.

This research assessed criminalized women's health literacy skills. Health literacy is conceptualized as one's ability to access, understand, appraise, communicate, and act upon health information. Estimates of health literacy skill for criminalized women in Canada do not exist. The research question that guided this study was: what are the assessed health literacy skills of criminalized women? A cross-sectional survey design assessed participant demographics, health information preferences, and health literacy skills. The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) was administered to incarcerated women in Ontario, Canada. Descriptive statistics of demographic data and assessed health literacy skills were reported. Eighty-five women with a mean age of 29 years participated. The majority (N= 50, 65%) reported an income less than $14,999 (CAN) and 81% (N=68) reported their education level as a high school diploma or less. A range of health literacy skill (inadequate (51%), marginal (15%), adequate (34%)) were documented with a mean NVS score of 2.79± 1.75/6. The results demonstrated participants' had limited health literacy skills, which have far reaching implications for the development of health resources that strive to accommodate diverse health literacy skill and lived complexity. The results support population level reports of limited health literacy skill among marginalized Canadians.

Background/Aims: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health literacy levels and primary immunodeficiency awareness among pregnant and early postpartum women. Methods: This study included 206 women who visited the obstetrics and gynecology outpatient clinic and obstetrics ward of a university hospital between March and June 2024. Data were collected using a participant information form, a health literacy scale, and a primary immunodeficiency awareness form. Data analysis included the independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and Spearman’s correlation test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean score on the health literacy scale was 110.72±13.92, while the mean score for primary immunodeficiency awareness was 15.03±2.88. Women aged 26-30 had higher understanding information scores on the health literacy scale than women aged 25 and below. Women with high school and university education had higher health literacy and primary immunodeficiency awareness scores than only literate women and those with primary education. A weak, positive correlation was found between access and information (a subdimension of the health literacy scale) and primary immunodeficiency awareness. Conclusions: Educational programs aimed at increasing health literacy in women may be an effective strategy for improving awareness of primary immunodeficiency. Education and awareness programs should be specifically developed for younger women and those at lower education levels.

Introduction: Cardiovascular health literacy (CVHL) is vital for managing cardiovascular risk. However, poor mental health can be a barrier, and there's a gap in understanding how mental health impacts CVHL in women. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that mental health has an association with cardiovascular health literacy. We further hypothesized that this would vary by younger age. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from the Research Goes Red registry and SAFE HEART study. Women aged ≥18 completed questionnaires on cardiovascular health literacy (CVHL) and mental health. CVHL was assessed using a validated tool, with scores ranging 0-100. It included knowledge of CVD risk factors, exercise, diet, and therapeutic interventions. Psychological health risk was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4; score 1-16), Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-2; score 1-6), and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2; score 0-6) for assessing depression. Stepwise linear regression models evaluated associations between mental health and CVHL. Final adjusted models employed spline terms for PHQ-2 (scores 1, 2, 3), GAD-2 (scores 1, 2, 3), and PSS-4 (scores 4, 8, 12). Results: A total of 677 women were included in the analysis. Mean age 40.07 (SD15.30), 29.08% Black, and 64.1% employed. Our analysis revealed complex associations between mental health measures and cardiovascular health literacy (CVHL). Perceived stress (PSS-4) showed a non-linear relationship with CVHL (β=-2.64, 7.28, -5.72 for scores 4, 8, ≥12 respectively; all p<0.05). Depression (PHQ-2) demonstrated a significant negative association at score 1 in the crude model (β=-6.51, 95% CI: -10.69, -2.34), which attenuated after adjustment. Anxiety (GAD-2) showed a significant positive association at scores ≥3 in the crude model (β=6.94, 95% CI: 2.06, 11.83), also attenuating after adjustment. Age ≥50 was consistently associated with higher CVHL scores across all models (β range: 10.49-13.3; all p<0.001). Physical activity <150 minutes/week showed a positive association (β=4.76, p<0.05), but interacted negatively with BMI ≥25 (β=-7.12, p<0.05). Financial strain was negatively associated with CVHL (β=-6.41, 95% CI: -9.16 to -3.67, p<0.001). Conclusion: Mental health and CVHL show complex relationships, older age consistently predicting higher CVHL. Financial strain negatively impacts CVHL, highlighting the need for targeted interventions addressing both psychological and socioeconomic factors.

Background and Objective: Health literacy is the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions. Women’s health literacy is an important skill to participate in the prevention and promotion of public health. This study was aimed to investigate women's health literacy and some related factors in Mashhad. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive study that was performed on 400 women referring to cultural centers of Mashhad municipality in 2018-2019. A personal information questionnaire and a short form of functional health literacy questionnaire in adults were used to assess the data. Statistic software (SPSS 16) were used to conduct descriptive tests (Frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and analytical statistics (Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and ordinal logistic regression). Results: The results of this study showed that 16.5% of women participants had inadequate health literacy، 19.8% had border health literacy, and 63.7% had adequate health literacy. Health literacy was significantly related with education, and with the improvement of education level, the score of health literacy also increases. However, no significant relationship between health literacy and age, income, marital status, and employment was observed. Conclusion: More than one-third of women had inadequate or border health literacy. Considering the important role of women in family and community health and the impact of health literacy on this important role, it is necessary to design and implement educational programs to promote health literacy skills in them.

Navigational health literacy (HL), a specific form of HL, refers specifically to the skills required to navigate effectively healthcare systems, access services and make informed healthcare decisions. While general and navigational HL are related and share common predictive factors, little is known about whether socioeconomic factors have a residual, specific effect on the ability to navigate the healthcare system after accounting for general HL. The aim of this study was to investigate the socioeconomic and chronic conditions variables associated with the ability to navigate the healthcare system in the French population, controlling for the mediating role of general HL. Methods A cross-sectional study, as a part of France's participation in the European Health Literacy Survey 2019-2021, involved 2 003 participants. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of socioeconomic and health status variables on navigational HL level, considering general HL as a mediator on these relationships. Given the different healthcare needs and utilization patterns between French men and women, the analysis was stratified by gender to account for these differences. Results General HL was found to be a significant mediator for the relationships between socioeconomic factors and navigational HL in both men and women. Financial difficulties only had an indirect effect on navigational HL, completely mediated by general HL. Similarly, subjective social status showed complete mediation by general HL in women, with 64 % of the total effect mediated, whereas in men, mediation was partial, with 56 % of the total effect mediated by general HL. Conclusions This study underscores the pivotal role of general HL as a mediator in the relationships between socioeconomic factors and navigational HL. Interventions aimed at enhancing general HL could substantially improve the ability to navigate the healthcare system, leading to more efficient healthcare navigation and better health outcomes.

Cancer health literacy, which is the ability to search, understand, and use health information to make appropriate health decisions, plays an important role in the use of preventative and screening information. The present study aims to evaluate cervical cancer health literacy in women of reproductive age and its related factors. In this cross-sectional study, 231 women of reproductive age who referred to health centers of Khuzestan Province, Iran, were selected via convenience sampling. A valid and reliable measure was employed to collect information about various dimensions of cervical cancer health literacy, including having access to, reading, understanding, appraising, using, and communicating it. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS 16. Data analysis was conducted by independent sample t test, one-way ANOVA, Spearman's correlation, chi-square, and linear regression. The participants' average health literacy score was 97.88±12.7 (from 135 points), and 47.2% of the participants had limited health literacy. Health literacy was associated with education, employment, income, searching, mothers' and young friends' counseling, and duration of the study time (p<0.05). In linear regression model, there was a significant association between income (p=0.011), searching (p=0.01), study time (p=0.009), and young friends' counseling (p=0.002) and cervical cancer literacy scores. In this study, no significant association was observed between age and health literacy. This study indicated that the cervical cancer literacy in women of reproductive age was not at good levels. Health workers should pay more attention to groups who are at greater risk of having low health literacy. Moreover, targeting and tailoring educational interventions with respect to different levels of cervical cancer literacy might increase cervical cancer screening.

Background: Cervical cancer is a preventable disease. The health literacy of women is a significant predictor of behaviour regarding their own health, along with the ability to search for, understand, and use health information, and plays an important role in the use of preventive and screening programmes. Objectives: To evaluate the health literacy level of women of reproductive age in relation to their knowledge of the issue of cervical cancer. Sample: The research sample consisted of women between the ages of 18 and 60 years old (n = 270). Methods: We collected data with the use of a self-constructed questionnaire focused on knowledge about cervical cancer and a standardised health literacy questionnaire (Health Literacy Questionnaire, hereafter the HLQ). Results: In the first five dimensions of the HLQ, the highest achieved score was recorded in the domain "Social support in the field of health" ( = 3.10 ± 0.35). The lowest scores were seen in the domains "Active care of one's own health" ( = 2.91 ± 0.33) and "Assessment of health information" ( = 2.91 ± 0.37). For the last four domains, the lowest score occurred in "Navigation of the health care system" ( = 3.42 ± 0.57), and the highest score was achieved in the domain "Understanding health information to the extent that the individual knows what to do" ( = 3.72 ± 0.45). Respondents assigned to the "sufficiently informed" group achieved a higher average score on the HLQ ( = 29.68 ± 3.13) than respondents assigned to the "insufficiently informed" group ( = 29.28 ± 3.29). Conclusion: It is necessary to increase the effectiveness and adequacy of patient education regarding the importance of passing preventive gynaecological examinations at annual intervals for the prevention of cervical cancer, as well as the possibility of vaccination against HPV.

IntroductionSexual health literacy is an important factor affecting sexual health, and social determinants of health significantly increasing health literacy. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social determinants of health and sexual health literacy.MethodThe present cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 married women of reproductive age referred to health centers in Tehran, Iran (2024). Questionnaires included demographic and obstetric details, Perceived Social Support, Socioeconomic Status, and Intimate Partner Violence. The statistical analysis was performed in SPSS-27, and the relationship model was examined using the path analysis method in LISREL-8.8.ResultsAccording to the path analysis, sexual health literacy was directly affected by domestic violence (B = -0.12) and perceived social support (B = 0.39). It was also indirectly affected by socioeconomic status (B = 0.44) and spouse education (B = 0.48).ConclusionThe results showed that some factors influence sexual health literacy in women both directly and indirectly. Given the factors identified in the suggested model, it is advisable to utilize this model as a suitable framework for research, design, and execution of initiatives concerning sexual health literacy.

Background: Health literacy is important not only for reading efficiency but also for early diagnosis of diseases and risk awareness. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of health literacy on the level of knowledge of women regarding cardiovascular disease risk factors and their risk of developing diabetes. Method: The study employs a cross-sectional design. The research sample consists of 300 women. The data was collected by face-to-face survey method between January and July 2021. A Personal Information Form, the Turkish Health Literacy Scale-32 (THLS-32), the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Knowledge Level (CARRF-KL) Scale and the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) Questionnaire were used in the study. Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to evaluate the data. Results: It was determined that one third of the women had inadequate THLS-32 scores and that their mean CARRF-KL and FINDRISC scores were moderate. The mean THLS-32 scale scores of those with a low education level and poor health perception were found to be lower (p

Background and objective: Introduction: Health literacy is the ability of people to acquire, understand and use health information that is necessary to decide on this field. Since, reproductive health literacy promotion is known as one of the strategies to meet reproductive health goals in different groups of women. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between reproductive health literacy and demographic factors in women of Isfahan city. Methods:This study was a descriptive-analytic research that was evaluated women's reproductive health literacy and its related factors in Isfahan using the questionnaire of health literacy scale for women of reproductive age. Sampling method was easy and 235 women were enrolled in the study. Data analysis was performed using the software SPSS20. Results: The average age of these women was 27/8 ± 11/01 years, most were high school graduates and married. The reproductive health literacy score was desirable in 91% of women and two variables of marital status and age had correlation with reproductive health literacy scores. Conclusion: The results showed marital status and age were two related factors to women's reproductive health literacy level. Accordingly, the reproductive health literacy scores of women younger than 25 years old and unmarried women were lower than other groups. Paper Type:Research Article.

Aim: This study aimed at investigating the women’s health literacy levels and health beliefs regarding human papillomavirus and human papillomavirus vaccine. Material and Method: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in a gynecology outpatient clinic between November 2023 and March 2024 in Türkiye. The sample of the study consisted of 368 women. The descriptive characteristics questionnaire of the participants, Health Belief Model Scale for Human Papilloma Virus and its Vaccination and Health Literacy Scale were used to obtain research data. Results: Results indicated that while the participants’ perceived barriers sub-dimension score was below the average, their scores for the perceived severity, perceived benefits and perceived susceptibility sub-dimensions were above the average. Women who were young, those who were single, those who had senior high school or higher education, who were employed, those who did not have children, who had gynecological examinations regularly and those who had received training on human papillomavirus had higher health literacy and perception levels. A positive relationship was determined between health literacy, and perceived severity, perceived benefits and perceived susceptibility. Conclusion: Health professionals can contribute to increasing women's general health literacy knowledge levels by providing guidance to help them understand and implement health information better.

Maternal health literacy is a social skill that is relevant to successful postnatal newborn adaptation, neonatal feeding, and neonatal health outcomes, given the importance of maternal health literacy in newborn healthcare. The study aims to identify and assess the associations between maternal health literacy, neonatal health, and breastfeeding outcomes during the early postpartum period. Five hundred women who gave birth to full-term newborns at Vilnius University Hospital were invited to the study from 1 May to 30 September 2022. The 47 questions of the European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) were used to assess maternal health literacy on days 2 and 3 after birth. Each subject's health literacy indices were divided into four categories: inadequate, problematic, sufficient, and excellent. The neonatal health indicators were birth weight and height, along with the APGAR score and the outcomes of feeding either exclusively with breast milk or with adapted formula in addition to breastfeeding. Most women who participated in the survey had insufficient or problematic health literacy (69%). The study showed that women's higher health literacy is associated with a lower risk of obesity, a healthier diet, regular physical activity, and a higher birth weight and height of their newborns (p<0.05). Mothers with inadequate/problematic health literacy were more likely to feed their newborns with adapted formula in addition to breastfeeding. Women's health literacy is a factor that affects women's healthy lifestyle choices before and during pregnancy and is significant for newborns' health indicators.

ObjectiveThis study focused on the issues surrounding health literacy in the context of women’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH), the significance and availability of information for midwives and women; and the socio-cultural influences and barriers related to women’s level of health literacy. MethodsA cross sectional on-line survey was distributed to 280 student midwives in their 2nd 3rd and 4th year of a midwifery programme. This paper focuses on the responses from 138 students which were analysed using descriptive and non-parametric tests. ResultsStudent midwives indicated their level of agreement regarding women’s ability to access, understand, and appraise information they received verbally and in written form about the six main SRH topics (namely contraception, STIs, abortion, Pap tests and cervical cancer, and fertility and pregnancy), from their midwife but agreement was much lower regarding women’s access to SRH information from peers and their families. False beliefs were ranked as the most common barrier to accessing information and services. Students ranked being a refugee, being from a rural area, being educated to a primary school level or not formally educated, as having the greatest negative impact on women’s health literacy. ConclusionsFindings from this study indicate the role that the sociocultural background of Islamic culture plays in the disparities in sexual and reproductive health literacy (SRHL) for women from the perspective of student midwives. Our findings indicate the need for future research to focus on women as participants to gain their first-hand experiences of SRHL.