Communicative health literacy of Hungarian adults – who are the most vulnerable?

Abstract

Abstract Background Good communication in health care can improve health outcomes and satisfaction of the patients and doctors. Therefore enhanced communicative health literacy is inevitable. This was the first time to assess communicative health literacy among the Hungarian adult population with a new measure developed within the framework of the European Health Literacy Survey 2019. The aim of the present survey was to provide a snapshot of communicative health literacy and determine the most vulnerable groups. Methods Data was collected by a polling company in a representative sample of the adult population (N = 1206) with computer-assisted telephone interviewing below the umbrella of the Health Literacy Survey 2019. The questionnaire included items among others on demographic and socioeconomic data, subjective well-being, and communicative health literacy. Statistical weights were applied to ensure that estimates reflect the general adult Hungarian population by gender, age group, educational level, settlement type. Results The mean age of the respondents was 48.0 years (standard deviation: 17.5 years), 47% of them were male. The mean score of the communicative health literacy scale was 86.8 (95% CI 85.5-88.1), and 13.3% of respondents had difficulties during communication in health care services. Explaining health concerns was the easiest task, while getting enough time in the consultation had the highest difficulty percentages. Communicative health literacy was lower among those who can be characterized by lower socioeconomic and worse health status, and belong to the older age group. Conclusions The findings suggest that the ill people and the members of the lower socioeconomic status are the most vulnerable regarding communicative health literacy, so special interventions are needed in order to enhance their health literacy. Maybe the first step can be the improvement of the communication skills of the health care professionals and implementing environmental changes. Key messages Getting enough time in the consultation was the most difficult for the respondents. Patients and people from lower socioeconomic status are the most vulnerable regarding communicative health literacy, so they need special attention.