Abstract
BackgroundPoor health literacy was found to be one of the key barriers in older adults’ disease prevention practice. However, it has still been unclear how different processes in health literacy play a role in older adult’s vaccination-related competencies. By adopting the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU), the current study aimed to examine older adults’ competences in accessing, understanding, evaluating and applying health information, as well as how they are related to perceived difficulties in vaccination-related practices. .MethodsWith a cross-sectional design, a quantitative exploratory study was conducted using structured questionnaires. Four-hundred and 86 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 and above were recruited from non-government organizations in Hong Kong. Health literacy was measured by the Chinese version of 47-item HLS-EU (HLS-Asia-Q), which assesses the competences in accessing, understanding, evaluating and applying health information across the domains of health care, disease prevention, and health promotion. Linear regression was performed to test the association between different aspects of health literacy and vaccination-related information processing.ResultsThe findings showed that the health literacy of Hong Kong older adults has been limited, particularly in information appraisal. Poorer competences in accessing and appraising health information were associated with greater difficulties in making vaccination decision.ConclusionsBy identifying the health literacy processes associated with vaccination, our findings suggested that health-promotion programs strengthening the appraisal and comparison of vaccination information should be provided for the general public. Meanwhile, health professionals and mass media should reduce the complexity when delivering the health messages, and make it easier for older adults to access and comprehend, thus increasing the inclination to take vaccine and preventing the spread of communicable diseases.
Highlights
Poor health literacy was found to be one of the key barriers in older adults’ disease prevention practice
A national survey conducted in the United States (N = 18,000) revealed that the low level of health literacy was associated with a decrease in the utilization of preventive health measures among the older adults aged 65 years or above [4]
Poor health literacy was found to account for the education- and race– related disparities in health status and receipt of influenza vaccination among the older people [3]
Summary
Poor health literacy was found to be one of the key barriers in older adults’ disease prevention practice. By adopting the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU), the current study aimed to examine older adults’ competences in accessing, understanding, evaluating and applying health information, as well as how they are related to perceived difficulties in vaccination-related practices. The level of health literacy among older adults has been relatively limited, which could thereby lead to delayed or poor preventive health practice. A national survey conducted in the United States (N = 18,000) revealed that the low level of health literacy was associated with a decrease in the utilization of preventive health measures among the older adults aged 65 years or above [4]. With a large-scale survey in Beijing, Zhang et al, have found that the level of communicable disease health literacy (CDHL) was inadequate, especially among those who were aged above 60, doing manual works and illiterate [5]
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