The prevalence of Health Literacy in residents of China in 2011-2013: a Meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective To explore the prevalence of health literacy in China in 2011-2013. Methods The eligible studies were identified by searching China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese BioMedical Literature Database (CBM), VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP), Wanfang database, PubMed and Embase. The Meta-analysis was applied with Stata 12.0 software. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to test the robust of the results. Results A total of 28 studies, including 53 308 residents, were finally included in the review. Meta-analysis revealed the prevalence of health literacy in China to be 16% (95%CI 15%-16%), and the prevalence of health concepts and knowledge was 25% (95%CI 25%-26%), and healthy lifestyles and behaviors was 13% (95%CI 12%-14%), and health skills was 32% (95%CI 31%-32%). Conclusions The health literacy levels of residents showed a rising trend. There were differences between rural and urban health literacy levels and different regions. Rural residents' health literacy level increased more significantly than that of the city. Due to limited kinds of methods, more scientific and effective methods were needed to evaluate the health literacy. Key words: Meta-analysis; Health literacy; Resident