Higher Levels Of Health Literacy Research Articles

Status of self-medication and the relevant factors regarding drug efficacy and safety as important considerations among adolescents aged 12-18 in China: a cross-sectional study.

The objective of this study was to investigate self-medication behavior among Chinese adolescents aged 12-18years and explore the factors associated with whether adolescents prioritize drug efficacy or safety when engaging in self-medication behavior. In 2021, a questionnaire investigation was conducted in the Chinese mainland using a multi-stage sampling approach. After a statistical description, logistic regression was used to analyze the factors associated with considering drug efficacy and safety. The self-medication rate among Chinese adolescents aged 12-18years was 96.61%. Of these, 65.84% considered drug safety to be essential, while 58.72% prioritized drug efficacy. Regression analysis showed that individuals with better healthcare were more likely to consider drug efficacy an important factor. Additionally, those with a healthier family lifestyle were more likely to prioritize efficacy. When individuals engage in self-medication, those residing in urban areas and possessing advanced preventive health literacy and ample family health resources tend to prioritize drug safety to a greater extent. Conversely, those with higher monthly household incomes and only children exhibit a decreased inclination towards prioritizing safety during self-medication. Self-medication is a frequently observed practice among Chinese adolescents aged 12-18. Several factors, such as demographic and sociological characteristics, health literacy, and family health status, have been found to be associated with the extent to which adolescents prioritize medication safety and efficacy when engaging in self-medication practices. Higher levels of health literacy and better family health status were positively correlated with considering both the efficacy and safety of drugs as important factors when self-medicating.

여성 노인의 사회적 관계, 건강정보 리터러시 및 신체 건강에 관한 연구

This study aims to examine the health of older women in relation to their social relationships and health literacy, utilizing the data from the ‘Korean Study of Women’s Health-Related Issues(K-Stori)’. The dataset comprises a final sample of 3,000 older women, with 683 residing in single-person households (SPH) and 2,317 in multi-person households (MPH). The key findings of the analysis are as follows: Firstly, older women in SPH exhibited lower levels of physical health compared to those in MPH. Secondly, it was observed that the overall level of social relationships among older women in SPH was inferior to that of those in MPH. Thirdly, MPH residents displayed a higher level of health literacy than their counterparts in SPH. Lastly, this study revealed that health literacy plays a mediating role in the relationship between social relationships and physical health for both SPH and MPH residents. Specifically, health literacy completely mediated the association between family relationships and health outcomes for both SPH and MPH, while it entirely mediated the connection between friend relationships and health solely for MPH residents. Drawing from these findings, policy and practice implications for enhancing the health of older women were proposed.

The association between health literacy and pedestrian safety behavior among adults: a cross-sectional study

IntroductionPedestrians are considered the most vulnerable and complex road users as human behavior constitutes one of the fundamental reasons for traffic-related incidents involving pedestrians. However, the role of health literacy as a predictor of Pedestrian safety behavior remains underexplored. Therefore, the current study was designed to examine the level of health literacy and its association with the safety behavior of adult pedestrians in the city of Tabriz.MethodsThis cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among individuals aged 18 to 65 years in the metropolitan area of Tabriz from January to April 2023. Data were collected using the HELIA standard questionnaire (Health Literacy Instrument for adults), comprising 33 items across 5 domains (access, reading, understanding, appraisal, decision-making and behavior), as well as the Pedestrian Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ) consisting of 29 items. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics (independent t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient) via SPSS-22 software.ResultsBased on the results, 94% (376 individuals) had excellent health literacy levels, and their safety behavior scores were at a good level. Health literacy and safety behavior were higher among the age group of 31 to 45 years, women, married individuals, those who read books, and individuals with higher education. However, safety behavior showed no significant association with education level (P > 0.05). There was a significant and positive relationship between health literacy and all its domains and pedestrian safety behavior (r = 0.369, P < 0.001).ConclusionThis study underscores the significant impact of health literacy on pedestrians’ safety behavior. The findings reveal that higher levels of health literacy are associated with better safety behavior among individuals aged 18 to 63. Demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status, and education level also play a role in shaping both health literacy and safety behavior. By recognizing these relationships, interventions can be tailored to improve health literacy levels and promote safer pedestrian practices, ultimately contributing to a healthier and safer community in Tabriz city.

Arab male physicians’ perceptions about their own smoking behaviors: a qualitative study

BackgroundSmoking remains the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death worldwide. Although physicians have high levels of health literacy with awareness of the consequences of smoking and their essential role in smoking cessation of patients, some physicians continue to smoke. Rates of smoking among Arab male physicians are high. This study aimed to gain insights into Arab male physician’s perceptions of their own smoking behaviors and their professional role in health promotion.MethodsUsing purposive sampling, we recruited 25 Arab male physicians working in hospital and community clinic settings who currently smoke. Semi-structured, hour-long, interviews were held during January—June 2022. We then performed a thematic analysis of the interview data.ResultsThe analysis revealed three categories, two sub-categories, and 15 emerging themes. The category ‘Antecedents: prior to becoming a physician’ revealed the themes: smoking experience during adolescence; social and ethnic culture; stress during medical studies; and on & off periods of quitting smoking. The category ‘Physicians’ perception of smoking’ was sorted into two sub-categories: (1) Personal aspects, including the themes ‘relaxation from stress’, ‘self-compensation’, ‘addiction’, and ‘enjoyable experience’, and (2) Professional aspects, including the themes ‘lack of knowledge about cessation’, ‘inadequate workplace support’, ‘motivation to consult patients’, and ‘awareness of their role as primary care physicians’. The category’Impacts’ revealed the themes ‘personal health and well-being’, ‘professional competence’, and ‘professional image in public’.ConclusionsThis study provides an in-depth understanding of the personal, socio-cultural, and professional aspects of the phenomenon of Arab male smoking physicians from their perspective. Based on this information, we recommend developing programs that support and empower all physicians to cope better with their personal and professional stress as well as instituting programs that will provide all physicians with specific knowledge and skills related to smoking cessation. These programs should improve the ability of physicians to serve as positive role models for their patients for preventing and ceasing smoking, thus enhancing the image of the medical profession and, most importantly, improving the health of the public.

Digital interventions for adolescents with type 1 diabetes to promote health literacy? A qualitative study on physicians’ perspective in Germany

IntroductionAdolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) require a high level of health literacy (HL) to prevent complications. It remains unclear what potential digital interventions have for promoting HL among...

Association between general self-efficacy and health literacy among stroke survivors 1-year post-discharge: a cross-sectional study

Stroke may affect physical functioning, cognition, and mental and social aspects of one’s life. Health literacy and self-efficacy are associated with positive health outcomes and are important factors for managing the diverse consequences of a stroke. However, there is very little literature on the association between health literacy and self-efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the association between health literacy and self-efficacy among stroke survivors 1 year after discharge from hospital. Participants in this cross-sectional study were patients diagnosed with a stroke, mainly a mild stroke, who were referred to rehabilitation in primary care after discharge from hospital in Sweden. Data was collected using questionnaires, performance-based tests, and medical records. Ordinal logistic regression was used to analyze the association between general self-efficacy and health literacy in adjusted models. The analysis revealed that higher levels of general self-efficacy and higher levels of performing activities of daily living were associated with higher levels of health literacy. Stroke survivors with higher general self-efficacy also report higher health literacy 1-year post-discharge from hospital. Future studies should focus on the pathways by which health literacy and general self-efficacy work among stroke survivors and in populations with low health literacy, severe stroke or significant cognitive impairments.

Health Literacy and Demand for Medical Cannabis use among Colorectal Cancer Patients in Northern Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study aimed to explore health literacy and factors associated with demand for medical cannabis (MC) use among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in Northern Thailand as a target group. This cross-sectional analytical study administered multistage random sampling to recruit 439 CRC patients in northern Thailand. Ethical approval and signed written informed consents were obtained from the patients, prior to the study. A standardized, self-administered structured questionnaire was used to obtain the sociodemographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, social support, attitudes toward MC, knowledge about MC, health literacy about MC, and questions on demand for MC use. The scores from all questionnaires were converted to percentages before analysis. A total of 146 (33.26%) of patients with CRC reported demand to use MC. The multivariable analysis revealed that factors associated with demand for MC among CRC patients included: had high levels of health literacy about MC (adj.OR = 7.71; 95% CI: 4.28 to 13.87), aged less than 45 years (adj.OR =5.09; 95% CI: 2.78 to 9.34), positive attitudes toward MC use (adj.OR = 4.66; 95% CI: 2.68 to 8.10), and higher levels of social support (adj.OR =4.14; 95% CI: 2.39 to 7.17) when controlling effect of other covariates. Health literacy is an important factor affecting the demand for MC use of CRC patients. Therefore, improving health literacy, social support, and attitudes about MC especially among younger CRC patients, could help increase demand for MC as a complementary and alternative medicine alongside cancer treatment.

Racial Differences in Shared Decision-Making About Critical Illness

Shared decision-making is the preferred method for evaluating complex tradeoffs in the care of patients with critical illness. However, it remains unknown whether critical care clinicians engage diverse patients and caregivers equitably in shared decision-making. To compare critical care clinicians' approaches to shared decision-making in recorded conversations with Black and White caregivers of patients with critical illness. This thematic analysis consisted of unstructured clinician-caregiver meetings audio-recorded during a randomized clinical trial of a decision aid about prolonged mechanical ventilation at 13 intensive care units in the US. Participants in meetings included critical care clinicians and Black or White caregivers of patients who underwent mechanical ventilation. The codebook included components of shared decision-making and known mechanisms of racial disparities in clinical communication. Analysts were blinded to caregiver race during coding. Patterns within and across racial groups were evaluated to identify themes. Data analysis was conducted between August 2021 and April 2023. The main outcomes were themes describing clinician behaviors varying by self-reported race of the caregivers. The overall sample comprised 20 Black and 19 White caregivers for a total of 39 audio-recorded meetings with clinicians. The duration of meetings was similar for both Black and White caregivers (mean [SD], 23.9 [13.7] minutes vs 22.1 [11.2] minutes, respectively). Both Black and White caregivers were generally middle-aged (mean [SD] age, 47.6 [9.9] years vs 51.9 [8.8] years, respectively), female (15 [75.0%] vs 14 [73.7%], respectively), and possessed a high level of self-assessed health literacy, which was scored from 3 to 15 with lower scores indicating increasing health literacy (mean [SD], 5.8 [2.3] vs 5.3 [2.0], respectively). Clinicians conducting meetings with Black and White caregivers were generally young (mean [SD] age, 38.8 [6.6] years vs 37.9 [8.2] years, respectively), male (13 [72.2%] vs 12 [70.6%], respectively), and White (14 [77.8%] vs 17 [100%], respectively). Four variations in clinicians' shared decision-making behaviors by caregiver race were identified: (1) providing limited emotional support for Black caregivers, (2) failing to acknowledge trust and gratitude expressed by Black caregivers, (3) sharing limited medical information with Black caregivers, and (4) challenging Black caregivers' preferences for restorative care. These themes encompass both relational and informational aspects of shared decision-making. The results of this thematic analysis showed that critical care clinicians missed opportunities to acknowledge emotions and value the knowledge of Black caregivers compared with White caregivers. These findings may inform future clinician-level interventions aimed at promoting equitable shared decision-making.

A survey of mental health literacy in parents and guardians of teenagers.

Parents and guardians (hereafter caregivers) of teenagers need high levels of mental health literacy (MHL) to manage mental health problems arising in teenagers in their care. Previous studies assessing MHL levels in caregivers of teenagers have reported mixed results, making it difficult to clearly estimate caregiver MHL levels. This study aimed to investigate MHL levels in Japanese caregivers of regular teenagers. Responses from caregivers (n = 1,397) of students entering junior and senior high schools to a self-administered online questionnaire were analyzed. The questionnaire assessed (a) knowledge about mental health/illnesses and (b) attitudes towards mental health problems in teens in their care (e.g., recognition of depression as a medical illness and intention to engage in helping behaviors). The average proportion of correct answers to the knowledge questions (n = 7) was 55.4%; about one tenth (9.2%) of caregivers correctly answered only one or none of the questions. Few caregivers correctly answered about the life-time prevalence of any mental illnesses (46.1%) and appropriate sleep duration for teenagers' health (16.5%). The proportions of caregivers who had the intention to listen to the teen in their care, consult another person, and seek professional medical help if the teen suffered from depression were 99.5%, 91.5% and 72.7%, respectively. Many teenagers' caregivers appeared to be willing to help the teens in their care if they were suffering from mental health problems. However, there was much room for improvement in knowledge on mental health/illnesses and intention to seek help from medical professionals. Efforts toward better education should be made.

Does health literacy influence health-related lifestyle behaviors among specialists of health management? A cross-sectional study

BackgroundNoncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as health-related lifestyle diseases, are the leading cause of mortality and societal and economic burdens. Poor lifestyle behaviors, which are modifiable to improve health, can cause diseases, including NCDs. Health literacy has been recognized as an important determinant of health, and studies have shown that higher health literacy is associated with better health outcomes and positive health-related behaviors. However, few studies have investigated the association between health literacy and health-related lifestyle behaviors to understand the mechanistic link between them. Thus, this study investigated the extent to which health literacy at different levels influences health-related lifestyle behaviors.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among Japanese health management specialists (N = 1,920). Functional, critical, and communicative health literacy were measured. Lifestyle behaviors (exercise, diet and nutrition, sleep, rest, smoking, and alcohol intake), in line with the Japanese National Health Promotion Program, were assessed and calculated into a total cumulative score of health-related lifestyle behaviors. Moreover, we analyzed the associations between the three levels of health literacy and lifestyle behaviors using regression analyses by adjusting for socio-psycho-demographic factors.ResultsMultiple linear regression analyses showed a significant association between the Japanese version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire and total health-related lifestyle scores (standardized β = 0.160, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.136) after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Similarly, the association between communicative and critical health literacy and the total health-related lifestyle scores was significant (standardized β = 0.122, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.125). The analysis indicated that individuals who had higher level of health literacy (critical and communicative) than functional health literacy (Japanese version of the Newest Vital Sign score) had higher health-related lifestyle behaviors.ConclusionsA higher level of health literacy is associated with health-related lifestyle behaviors. Health literacy can be a target for interventions to achieve the national goal of lifestyle-related disease prevention and control.

Effectiveness of Program for Older People’s Health Literacy on Drug and Health Products: Northeast of Thailand

Abstract Introduction: A health literacy promotion program in drugs and health products was collaboratively developed and evaluated for effectiveness by researchers and stakeholders. Methods: A Solomon four-group randomized study was conducted in 2022. The participants were people aged ≥60 years enrolled at senior schools in Northeast Thailand. One hundred and eighty older people were randomly selected using multistage sampling and allocated into four groups, 45 members. The designed program covers six skills: access to health information, cognition, communication, decision-making, media literacy, and self-management. ANOVA and t-test were used. Results: One hundred percent response rate, participants of the program (Group 1) showed a significant improvement (pre–post) of 62.2% in their health literacy in drugs and health products use (151.54 ± 37.88, 245.73 ± 9.33, P &lt; 0.001). Group 3, older people who joined the program with posttest only showed health literacy of 248.67 ± 11.54. In contrast, Group 2 and Group 4 with no program showed less health literacy of 149.02 ± 32.08 and 145.22 ± 34.14, respectively. On each item, the older people with the program consistently scored significantly higher across all domains (P &lt; 0.001). The average score was 247.20 ± 10.54, which showed a high level of health literacy (≥75%). Among areas, decision-making skills revealed the highest score of 45.97 ± 1.81 out of 50. The overall satisfaction score on the program was 47.60 ± 1.50. Conclusion: The program demonstrated its effectiveness in improving the older population’s health literacy regarding drug and health product use. It holds potential as a strategy to encourage older people to rational drug use. Participants expressed a significant satisfaction with the program, recommended for the broader Thai older people community.

Factors related to health literacy among Brazilian adolescents: cross-sectional study.

To analyze the relationship between sociodemographic and clinical factors with health literacy in Brazilian adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study with 526 adolescents aged 14 to 19. Data were collected virtually between July and September 2021 using a sociodemographic characterization questionnaire, clinical profile and the Health Literacy Assessment Tool - Portuguese version. The variables were evaluated by multiple linear regression with normal response, with significance p < 0.05. The average age was 16.9 years (±1.6), the average health literacy score was 25.3 (±5.4). Female gender (p = 0.014), university educational level (p = 0.002) and use of medication (p = 0.020) were related to higher levels of health literacy. Adolescents with chronic illnesses had a higher total literacy score, on average 1.51 points, compared to those without chronic illnesses. Male adolescents and those with less education performed worse in health literacy and, therefore, deserve special attention in health promotion actions.

Digital health literacy, vaccine information sources, and vaccine acceptance among parents in Ontario: Quantitative findings from a mixed methods study.

Parents make important vaccination decisions for their children and many variables affect parents' decisions to accept or decline vaccines. Parents are tasked with locating, understanding, and applying information to inform health decisions often using online resources; however, the digital health literacy levels of parents are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate parents' digital health literacy levels, their sources for vaccine information, and analyze how demographics, digital health literacy, health literacy, parental attitudes and vaccine beliefs, trust, and vaccine information sources predict vaccine acceptance. Quantitative findings of a mixed methods study that examined parental vaccine decision making across the continuum of vaccine hesitant to vaccine accepting is reported. An online survey of parents of young children living in Ontario, Canada was conducted in 2022. Multiple linear regression determined predictors of vaccine acceptance. 219 participants completed the survey and on average reported adequate digital health literacy skill. Healthcare providers were reported as the most commonly used source of vaccine information. Two models were retained that predicted vaccine acceptance, both models predicted about 50% of the variability in vaccine acceptance. Model A identified that trust predicted parent vaccine acceptance and model B identified that digital health literacy, and the vaccine information sources healthcare providers, family and friends, and alternate healthcare providers predicted vaccine acceptance. Family and friends and alternate healthcare providers negatively predicted vaccine acceptance. Most parents in our study had high levels of digital health literacy. Opportunities exist for further research and policy change focused on trust at a systemic public health level. While clinical level implications included the importance of healthcare providers as a vaccine information source and adequate digital health literacy to facilitate parental vaccine decision making. Continued efforts to develop awareness on the importance of digital health literacy among the public and healthcare providers is needed, including further research on the digital health literacy levels of Canadians.

Social support, health literacy and anxiety among pregnant women during coronavirus 2019 pandemic in Thailand.

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to have a significant impact. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to its effects, which may increase their anxiety levels. This study aims to investigate anxiety levels in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand and to identify factors predicting such anxiety. The researchers collected data through an online questionnaire from November 2021 to May 2022. The sample included 404 pregnant women. The questionnaire consisted of personal information, health literacy related to COVID-19, social support, and anxiety related to COVID-19. The content validity of the questionnaire were verified by three experts, with content validity indices of 0.87, 0.80, and 0.87 for each domain, respectively. The reliability of the questionnaire were 0.96 for health literacy, 0.95 for social support, and 0.96 for anxiety. Moreover, in-depth telephone interviews were also conducted with pregnant women. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, stepwise multiple regression, and content analysis. Group of 404 pregnant women were studied, and the results showed that pregnant women had a high level of health literacy regarding COVID-19 and pregnancy (mean = 96.36, SD = 14.23) and social support level on a high level (mean = 83.99, SD = 11.34). Most of them were concerned about anxiety related to COVID-19 infection and pregnancy on a moderate level (mean = 47.78, SD = 11.49). The factors predicting the anxiety of pregnant women during the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand included health literacy related to COVID-19 (β = 0.468) and social support (β = 0.283), with a prediction rate of 32.80% (R2 = 0.328) with statistical significance (p < 0.05). This study revealed the anxiety level of pregnant women during the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand, which was moderate. Health literacy about COVID-19 and social support can predict the anxiety level of pregnant women.

Health literacy of women giving birth in Vilnius Perinatology Centre

Abstract The aim of the study To investigate the health literacy and associated factors of women giving birth at the Vilnius Perinatology Centre. Material and methods The study was conducted between June 2022 and September 2022 at the Vilnius University Hospital in Lithuania. Five hundred and eight women who had delivered healthy newborns were surveyed. The study instrument was the European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) in addition to other questionnaires to assess socio-demographic factors of the mother. The Health Literacy Questionnaire was used with the permission of the authors. The survey data was processed using IBM SPSS version 23. Results and conclusions The study showed that more than half of women who gave birth at the Vilnius Perinatology Centre had inadequate or problematic health literacy. Across all literacy indices (including health care, disease prevention, and health promotion), they particularly lack expertise in health promotion. The assessment of health information processing indices (to obtain, understand, evaluate, and apply) revealed that the evaluation of recent health information is the most challenging task for those women. The study confirmed the assumption that women with higher levels of education and who had attended maternity skills training have higher levels of health literacy. Higher rates of unplanned births are also linked to lower levels of health literacy among women.

Teamwork Competencies and Their Influence on Health Literacy and Other Health Variables.

The ability to work in a team is a skill of special relevance for multiple facets of life, increasing performance and optimizing the process in any task. This work aimed to study whether teamwork skills were related to different health variables. The sample consisted of 671 military personnel from the Spanish Army. The instrument is composed of the Health Literacy Questionnaire-the Teamwork Skills Questionnaire, and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale. The study concludes that the level of teamwork skills of the military is high, as well as their level of health literacy and their self-perception of health. However, their self-esteem is medium. Teamwork competencies are positively associated with a higher level of health literacy, with a high self-perception of their health, with the level of physical activity and negatively with self-esteem and the number of hospital admissions.

49 Health Literacy and Well-Being in Older Adults

Objective:Although health problems are often a natural consequence of aging, many older adults struggle to manage their health care problems. Health literacy refers to the ability to access, process, and use health information to make appropriate decisions to promote good overall health. Low levels of health literacy are associated with a host of negative outcomes such as less efficient use of healthcare services, higher healthcare costs, increased mortality, and poorer self-rated health. In those with medical conditions (e.g., diabetes), lower health literacy is linked with higher levels of depression. It is important to investigate whether mental health is linked to health literacy as understanding these links has the potential to identify those at risk for negative outcomes and thus implement protective strategies. Therefore, the current study sought to determine the extent to which various mental health constructs such as happiness, well-being, anxiety and depression are related to health literacy in a community-based sample of cognitively healthy individuals. We hypothesized that higher levels of health literacy would be associated with higher self-reported well-being, happiness, and lower anxiety and depression.Participants and Methods:Design - Cross-sectional, prospective study. Setting - Community-based. 93 individuals were included with mean age=59.02 years (SD=15.12) and mean education=15.70 (SD=2.39). 60% were women, the majority were White (55%) while 38% were Black and 7% belonged to other races; 90% were non-Hispanic.Measures:Health Literacy - Health literacy was measured by an 8-item instrument in the Rush Memory and Aging Project that examined the participant’s understanding of health care, treatment, and related behaviors. Happiness - Happiness was measured by 5 items from the Satisfaction with Life Scale using a 7-point scale (1 = strongly agree; 7 = strongly disagree). Higher scores indicated lower levels of happiness. Well-being - Well-being was measured with an 18-item instrument from the Rush Memory and Aging project, with higher scores indicating better well-being. Statistics: Bivariate correlations between age, education, and mental health measures and health literacy were examined.Results:Higher level of health literacy was significantly associated with age (r = .282 p = .009) and education (r = .228 p = .039). Contrary to our hypothesis, health literacy was not significantly associated with happiness (r = .002 p = .987), well-being (r = .037 p = .742), depression (r = .005 p = .962) or anxiety (r = -.064 p = .568). Even after controlling for age and education, these associations remained significant.Conclusions:Higher level of healthy literacy was associated with older age and higher level of education. However, no significant association was found between health literacy and mental health measures of happiness, well-being, depression, and anxiety in cognitively healthy individuals, even after controlling for demographics. The lack of such associations in this study was unexpected and suggests that other factors such as the presence of health conditions (e.g., diabetes, cancer) might critically contribute to such associations. Future studies should examine these associations in a larger context to better understand how to promote healthy self-care behaviors.

Heart-to-heart with ChatGPT: the impact of patients consulting AI for cardiovascular health advice

ObjectivesThe advent of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) systems employing large language models such as ChatGPT has sparked public, professional and academic debates on the capabilities of such technologies. This mixed-methods...

Health literacy of informal caregivers: findings from a Portuguese study

Abstract Background Health literacy (HL) concerns the knowledge and competences of people to meet the complex demands of process of caring. Providing health care to someone can be an extremely demanding task that requires a combination of skills and knowledge. HL can be considered a key factor in promoting the health of both the informal caregiver and the cared person. The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics associated with health literacy among informal caregivers. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey directed to informal caregivers. It was applied the Portuguese version of European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU-PT-Q16) and it was calculated a 0-50 Score. Bivariate analyses were performed using one-way ANOVA, independent T-tests, and Pearsońs correlation, at a 5% significance level in SPSS®. Results In total, 760 informal caregivers were surveyed, mean age 57 years (±9.9), 92.5% female, 62.6% married or living with a partner, 41,5% higher education, 44.4% works full or part-time, 58.7% receives up to two national minimum wages. Regarding the process of care, 78.9% takes care of one person, 85.2% have been caring for more than 1 year, 54.3% feel that are not supported at all, and 20.3% do not feel competent to care. The mean HL score (n = 673) was 31.9 (+7.8), and 58.6% has a problematic or inadequate HL level. Education (p &amp;lt; 0.001), marital status (p = 0.030), employment (p &amp;lt; 0.001), family income (p &amp;lt; 0.001), perception of general and mental health status (p &amp;lt; 0.001), level of support (p &amp;lt; 0.001), level of perceived competence (p &amp;lt; 0.001), access to health care (p &amp;lt; 0.001) and access to information (p &amp;lt; 0.001) were associated with the informal caregivers’ HL Score. Conclusions Socioeconomic determinants are associated with HL Score, better socioeconomic status is associated with a higher level of health literacy among informal caregivers. Future studies focused on these determinants are needed to better understand and act on them. Key messages • Health literacy levels are associated to socioeconomic determinants, better socioeconomic status is associated with a higher level of health literacy among informal caregivers. • Higher levels of health literacy are associated with higher levels of perceived competence to provide care.

Food, Nutritional Status and Health Literacy

Abstract Introduction Azores is an autonomous region of Portugal situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. As a catchment area of cultural identity, it can be an interesting setting to better understand Health Literacy (HL) personal &amp; community development. Therefore developing ChildRen and ADolescents’ health Literacy (CrAdLiSa) become a local government strategy for all children and adolescents in the region. The aim of this study, is to explore the relationship between several components of adolescents living in Azores, like sustainable life style, focusing food, nutritional status, e.g. water intake (WI), and HL. With this situation diagnosis local authorities aim to develop policies towards HL increment while fighting health disparities. Methods A population (N = 852) cross-sectional study included (n = 515)) children enrolled in the 7th school year 2018/2019 of six schools in Ponta Delgada, Azores. Several indicators like anthropometric data, water intake, HL levels (using the HLS-EU-PT questionnaire) were collected with the CrAdLiSa online self-administered questionnaire. Results The instrument to measure HL (HLS-EU-PT) (Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0,94) allowed to consider that there is an association between HL and WI (p = 0,029), i.e. children with higher levels of HL have greater WI as they have a broader perception of the adequate amount of water needed to be healthy. Discussion These results continue to explore CrAdLiSa study, to better inform with ground base data policy makers regarding HL development.