Correlates of Health Literacy among Farmers in Northern Thailand.

Hannah Montgomery,Kriengkrai Srithanaviboonchai,Penprapa Siviroj,Siena Morgan,Pisittawoot Ayood,Michele M Wood

doi:10.3390/ijerph17197071

Abstract

Low health literacy is a barrier to public health efforts worldwide. Agricultural workers have an elevated risk for lower health literacy, with important health implications because of their potential exposure to harmful chemicals. The Asian Health Literacy Survey (AHLS) has been developed and translated for use in several different Asian countries and is standardized for easy comparisons across regions. However, it has not been translated for use in Thailand. The purpose of this study was to (1) to determine the health literacy of rural Thai farmers in Northern Thailand, and (2) identify correlates of health literacy within this group. Internal consistency of the Thai AHLS translation was “excellent” (alpha = 0.92). Descriptive results showed that health literacy was relatively high (M = 34.98/50, SD = 6.87). Education, income, working as a village health volunteer, age, length of time farming, no chemical use in farming, health, and pesticide screening were statistically significant correlates of health literacy (R2 = 0.19). Thai farmers had higher health literacy than reported for several other Asian countries. Results may be used to inform the design of future health promotion programs.

Highlights

Having sufficient health literacy is important when individuals manage health problems, as well as in everyday life [1]
The present study extends this work to Thailand by translating the Asian Health Literacy Survey (AHLS) and administering it to rural Thai residents
The median number of years having worked as a farmer was 30, ranging from 1 to 70 years

Summary

Introduction

Having sufficient health literacy is important when individuals manage health problems, as well as in everyday life [1]. Individuals with low health literacy may struggle navigating health care systems, especially when unfamiliar with medical terms, how bodies function, how to interpret numbers or risk to make healthcare decisions, and when they have little formal education or complex conditions that require extensive care. Poor health literacy can have negative effects on health, resulting in poor outcomes such as disease progression, poorer overall health status, and higher rates of hospitalization and emergency services use [3,4,5]. Identifying correlates of low health literacy can help practitioners design more effective health education programs. Many individuals have limited ability to understand and apply health information. 518) defines health literacy as “the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions.”. Title V of the United States 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (p. 518) defines health literacy as “the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process, and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions.” Health literacy involves

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion