Importance Of Health Literacy Research Articles

Re-Conceptualising Literacy among Adult Learners in a Post-Pandemic World

This article explores the far-reaching impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the field of adult education, with a particular emphasis on the importance of health literacy in adult literacy programs. Research shows that the pandemic has prompted educators to re-examine the concept of adult literacy, recognizing that traditional, narrow understandings of adult literacy may limit the effectiveness of adult learning interventions. The article also pointed out that regions such as Australia have the problem of low adult literacy rates. Although measures have been taken to improve literacy rates, many adults still lack basic literacy skills. Additionally, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital skills and health literacy, signaling how adult learning will continue to evolve in the future. The authors plan to use the acquired knowledge and skills to engage in curriculum redesign to ensure the reach and impact of adult literacy programs.

Integrating oral care in community- oriented primary care to reduce the health gap at a local level.

Introduction: In Flemish community health centres, we consider oral health as an important aspect of integrated and integral primary care. Meanwhile we see the health gap in terms of oral care increasing among the vulnerable population.
 This workshop provides an overview of interventions, currently running in Ghent, Leuven and Brussels to close this gap. We focus on projects that improve – bottom- up - the accessibility and the organization of oral care in order to prevent large groups of citizens from falling outside the nationally regulated framework. New healthcare professions are being introduced. 
 In doing so, we run into a number of difficulties in terms of upscaling good practices, changing the financing system, sustainable cooperation with dentists, with partners and certain target groups. Join this workshop to discuss which measures downstream, midstream and upstream are needed to eliminate inequalities in oral health.
 Background: With regard to oral health, we know that a lack of preventive care and follow-up ultimately leads to more complex problems and rising costs for the patient and the community. The importance of health literacy, (preventive) oral care and adequate oral hygiene for people's general health and quality of life is generally known and has been sufficiently scientifically substantiated. (Mazevet M., 2020) Nevertheless, oral diseases such as caries remain a problem for many population groups throughout Europe, especially the socio-economically vulnerable groups continue to be hit hard. (WHO, 2022) . Belgium is no exception to this, despite the government initiatives, it appears that socially vulnerable target groups find it more difficult to find their way to professional dental care. The challenges in Belgium are great: there is not only the capacity problem among dentists, both dentists and patients experience mutual barriers. In addition, the Belgian system of payment for performance is very complex and not transparent. After all, it consists of various aspects that complicate the financial accessibility of care for many patients. (Bouckaert N., et.al., 2020). That is why several Flemish CHC's invest in oral care and try to reduce the health gap with various interventions and experiment on a mixed financing system, often with support from the local government.
 Aims: We want to inspire participants to introduce new health professionals in (preventive) oral care, and new ways of financing. This workshop will provide attendees with insight into how this approach was chosen, lessons learned and outcomes.
 
 Target: This workshop is open to everyone with interest in oral health and in change strategies at a local level, that seek impact at the macro- level of health care systems.
 Format :
 
 Introduction (5’)
 Presentation of different case studies (30')
 Interactive discussion (45’) & summary of key learnings (10’)
 
 Key Learnings: Oral care is an important aspect of primary healthcare:
 - the importance of deploying dental hygienists also for health promotion and prevention in the neighborhood
 - the possible added value of a mixed financing model
 - local change strategies with an impact on supra-local health policy

Developing organizational health literacy in primary health care: a learning network of 18 Belgian projects

Objectives:
 
 Introduce the Organisational Health Literacy approach to
 
 primary care practitioners
 
 Discuss the challenges posed by introducing OHL in primary
 
 care
 
 Share potential solutions for best practice in OHL in primary care
 Reflect on appropriate process and outcome measures for OHL in primary care
 
 Rationale: The move towards active patient participation and informed decision making in health care has raised the interest in health literacy. Informed decision making requires sufficient knowledge about the possibilities, consequences, benefits and risks of interventions to make decisions that align with one’s personal values and preferences. As such, health literacy, defined as a person’s knowledge, motivation and skills to obtain, understand, evaluate, and apply health information, plays a key role in making informed health decisions.
 While the importance of health literacy is generally recognized by primary care practitioners, to date most efforts to address it have focused on enhancing the skills of patients to understand and apply the information given by professionals, and of professionals to adjust their communication to patients with low health literacy. Yet, as the health care systems is often complex and demanding, health care organizations can also try to reduce the demands they place on patients and families by implementing policies, practices, and systems that make it easier for people to navigate, understand, and use information and services to take care of their health. This strategy is known as Organizational Health Literacy (OHL). Critical components of OHL include (1) improving access to and navigation of health care facilities and systems; (2) encouraging patient engagement in the health care process; (3) enhancing communication with patients and families; (4) establishing a workforce with OHL-related knowledge and skills; (5) creating an organizational culture and infrastructure supportive of OHL; and (6) meeting patient needs, such as provision of interpreter services and self-management support.
 Efforts to introduce OHL are increasingly implemented with success in the hospital setting and, to a lesser extent, in other health organizations such as health insurance companies, but have thus far rarely been applied in the primary care setting.
 The workshop will address the challenges posed by introducing OHL in primary care, drawing on the first-hand experience with 18 OHL projects launched in 2022 in Belgium with support of the Dr. Daniël De Coninck Fund (managed by the King Baudouin Foundation) and functioning as a learning network.
 Audience: Primary care practitioners and managers of primary care networks.
 Workshop content:
 1.A short introduction to the concept and criteria of OHL
 and the 18 Belgian projects (10min)
 2.Three short presentations of projects focusing on OHL in
 primary care (20min)
 3.Discussion in breakout groups on challenges to introducing OHL in primary care (30min):
 (1)Embedding health literacy in the organizational mission,
 structure and functioning 
 (2)Building relationships between health care professionals
 and service users around HL
 (3)Developing HL through language, action and experience
 (4)Co-creating with service users throughout the care
 journey
 (5)Learning and evaluating across organizational
 boundaries
 4.A plenary debate (20min)
 5.Conclusion and summary of the learnings (10min)
 

2.76 What is Your Doctor Trying to Tell You? The Importance of Health Literacy on Patient Outcomes

2.76 What is Your Doctor Trying to Tell You? The Importance of Health Literacy on Patient Outcomes

Health Literacy and Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Behaviors in Women

Background: Breast cancer and cervical cancer, the most common forms of cancer in women worldwide, are on a fast and steady rise. Cancer screening tests are an important tool to combat cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Considering the importance of health literacy in promoting community health, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between health literacy and the history of screening behaviors of common cancers in women referred to Bushehr healthcare centers in 2019. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 380 women referred to urban health centers in Bushehr in 2019. Data were collected by using a questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographic characteristics, breast and cervical cancer screening behavior, and health literacy (HELIA) questionnaire. Data were analyzed via SPSS 21 software using the Chi-square test, an independent t-test, and descriptive statistical methods. Furthermore, P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 34.88±9.15 years. Moreover, 3.2% of subjects had inadequate health literacy, 13.9% had health literacy at a border level, and 82.9% had sufficient health literacy. In this study, 46.8% and 88.2% of the women did not undergo Pap tests and mammography, respectively, and 73.9% were never referred to the health centers for clinical examination of breasts. In addition, health literacy had a significant relationship with monthly breast examination and undergoing Pap smear (P<0.001), but health literacy had no significant relationship with undergoing mammography and clinical breast examination (P>0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that women with higher levels of health literacy are more likely to get in the habit of doing monthly breast self-examination and undergoing the Pap test. Thus, it is suggested that this result be considered in prevention programs (primary and secondary) to increase women’s health.

Integration of Case-Based Dialogue to Enhance Medical Students' Understanding of Using Health Communication to Address Social Determinants of Health.

With the ever-growing diversity within our communities, it is imperative that we integrate social determinants of health (SDOH) such as racial disparity, economic instability, lack of transportation, intimate partner violence, and limited social supports, and the importance of health literacy into undergraduate medical education. By incorporating evidence-based curriculum on the disproportionality within healthcare faced by racial and ethnic minorities, we have the opportunity to develop more culturally sensitive providers. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a case-based debrief experience on medical students' knowledge about how social determinants of health can impact health and healthcare within a family medicine clinical setting and their intent to practice in an underserved community. We utilized a retrospective paired-sample t-test analysis of program data from 640 third-year medical students who engaged in a family medicine clerkship between July 2020, and April 2022. For inclusion in the study, students must have engaged in a case-based exercise and corresponding small group debrief around the impact of social determinants of health on patient care. We found a statistically significant improvement in students' reported knowledge about SDOH, as well as the confidence and intent to work with and care for individuals of diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Medical students must have the knowledge and self-efficacy to understand how social determinants of health can impact health and healthcare within a family medicine clinical setting. As a result of integrating more active learning strategies such as the case-base and debrief experience, students may have a more robust medical education experience.

Does Health Literacy Have an Impact on Adherence to Diabetes Mellitus Treatment?

(1) Background: Health literacy is the intersection of general literacy, health, and healthcare, but it can also incorporate elements of other types of literacies to varying degrees. The notion of literacy surfaced from the fear that individuals would require more than general literacy skills to manage the complexities of health and health system issues. There is a substantial overlap between general literacy and health literacy. Diabetes patients frequently misinterpret medication instructions, resulting in non-adherence and poor health outcomes. (2) Aim: This study sought to review the literature on the impacts of health literacy on adherence and compliance to diabetes mellitus treatment. (3) Methods: A Narrative Literature Review method was used to identify, analyze, assess, and interpret the available information on health literacy regarding prescribed medication instructions. The following databases and search engines were used to locate the literature: electronic databases, search engines, and hand searches. Fifty-three (53) quantitative and qualitative studies and two books were reviewed. (4) Result: The review pointed out the following: the importance of health literacy, the implications of health illiteracy versus medication non-adherence, factors influencing health literacy versus medication adherence, and the interventions to improve medication non-adherence. (5) Conclusion: Relatively few studies have been conducted on how people living with diabetes should carry out their treatment. Therefore, more research on how people living with diabetes carry out their treatment daily is required. (6) Contributions: This study has identified that health literacy plays a role in adherence to treatment and contributes to improved health outcomes.

Readability of Online Patient Education Materials for Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review

BackgroundAs the demand for total joint arthroplasty continues to grow, patients increasingly turn to internet sources for accessible orthopaedic health information. We sought to evaluate the readability of online hip and knee arthroplasty patient education materials (PEMs). MethodsOur systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-P guidelines (PROSPERO registration of the study protocol: CRD42022358872, September 19th, 2022). PubMed, EBSCOhost, Medline, and Google Scholar electronic databases were utilized to identify all studies evaluating online PEMs related to total joint arthroplasty between January 1, 2000, and August 1, 2022. The quality of studies was assessed with the Joanna Briggs Institute scale. ResultsOur initial search yielded 360 publications which were then screened for appropriate studies aligned with our review’s purpose. A total of eleven cross-sectional studies were included. The total sample size across the studies consisted of 662 PEMs. Five studies evaluated professional or academic orthopaedic websites, six evaluated PEMs through web engines, and three evaluated apps or commercial websites. Most included studies found PEMs to be well above the recommended 6th-grade reading level. ConclusionArthroplasty PEMs produced by orthopaaedic websites, web searches, and apps have readability scores well above the recommended levels. Given the importance of health literacy on patient outcomes and satisfaction, work needs to be done to improve the readability of these materials.

Consumer perspectives on simplified, layered consent for a low risk, but complex pragmatic trial

BackgroundFor decades, the research community has called for participant information sheets/consent forms (PICFs) to be improved. Recommendations include simplifying content, reducing length, presenting information in layers and using multimedia. However, there are relatively few studies that have evaluated health consumers’ (patients/carers) perspectives on the type and organisation of information, and the level of detail to be included in a PICF to optimise an informed decision to enter a trial.We aimed to elicit consumers’ views on a layered approach to consent that provides the key information for decision-making in a short PICF (layer 1) with additional optional information that is accessed separately (layer 2). We also elicited consumers’ views on the optimal content and layout of the layered consent materials for a large and complex Bayesian adaptive platform trial (the SNAP trial).MethodsWe conducted a qualitative multicentre study (4 focus groups and 2 semi-structured interviews) involving adolescent and adult survivors of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection (22) and their carers (2). Interview transcripts were examined using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsConsumers supported a layered approach to consent. The primary theme that emerged was the value of agency; the ability to exert some control over the amount of information read before the consent form is signed. Three other themes emerged; the need to prioritise participants’ information needs; the importance of health literacy; the importance of information about a trial’s benefits (over its risks) for decision-making and the interplay between the two.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that consumers may challenge the one-size-fits-all approach currently applied to the development of PICFs in countries like Australia. Consumers supported a layered approach to consent that offers choice in the amount of information to be read before deciding whether to enter a trial. A 3-page PICF was considered sufficient for decision-making for the SNAP trial, provided that further information was available and accessible.

Adolescents' Nutrition: The Role of Health Literacy, Family and Socio-Demographic Variables.

Adolescent obesity rates are increasing on an epidemic level and food intake is one of the most important causes of this condition. From an ecological perspective, food intake is, in turn, influenced by many factors that need to be considered. This study aims to evaluate the associations between socio-demographic factors (gender, family origin, socio-economic status, parent's education level), which consist of social stratifiers, health literacy and family context, as independent variables, and food intake (consumption of fruits, vegetables, soft drinks and sweets and breakfast frequency) and outcomes (Body Mass Index category), as dependent variables. Data were retrieved from 2145 students (13 and 15 years old) from the Lombardy region (Italy) who participated in the 2018 edition of Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC). Six multiple binary logistic regression models were used in this study. Fruit, vegetable and soft drinks consumption models were related to all three-factor levels. Breakfast consumption frequency was associated with socio-demographic variables. BMI category was associated with socio-demographic and family variables. The results confirmed the existence of social inequalities, the importance of health literacy in predicting healthy behaviours and the relevance of the family context. The study confirms the importance of the ecological approach to understanding food intake and overweight/obesity status in adolescents.

Evaluation of a New Performance-Based Health Literacy Measurement Tool for Individuals With Chronic Airways Disease.

Low health literacy is a global challenge. Health literacy is positively correlated with chronic airways disease desirable outcomes. Despite the importance of health literacy in disease management, current health literacy measurement tools are suboptimal. As part of a multi-stage project to develop a performance-based, disease-specific Vancouver Airways Health Literacy Tool (VAHLT) for individuals with chronic airways disease, this study assessed the relationships between the VAHLT scores and characteristics of patients with chronic airways disease. The primary aim of the study was to provide preliminary evidence of construct validity of the VAHLT. A cross-sectional study design was applied. Study subjects were recruited from 6 specialty care clinics to complete the VAHLT measurement tool. Demographic and clinical data, including quality of life and disease control, were collected via validated questionnaires. The study subjects also completed a spirometry test. Inferential analysis was conducted by using mean difference testing and correlational methods. A total of 320 subjects were recruited, and, after imputing missing data, 315 were ultimately analyzed. The subjects were predominantly women (61%), white (83%), had a post-high-school education (74%), and a mean ± SD age of 65.2 ± 13.2 y. Age was significantly negatively correlated with the VAHLT scores (P = .004); the subjects with a post-high school education had significantly higher VAHLT scores than those with a high school education or less (P < .001). No significant sex or ethnicity related differences in VAHLT scores were observed. For clinical outcomes, no significant differences were found between the VAHLT scores and disease severity or measures of quality of life and asthma control. We report a chronic airways disease-specific health literacy measurement tool developed with the involvement of patients and professionals. Age and education were highly correlated with health literacy, which emphasizes the importance of addressing these factors in health literacy interventions among patients with chronic airways disease.

The Importance of Health Literacy in Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease in Terms of Public Health

The Importance of Health Literacy in Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease in Terms of Public Health

Inclusive governance: Enhance health literacy to reduce vaccine hesitancy

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic placed a call for action worldwide. Based on scientific investigation, governments need to assess strategic priorities. Health system capacity constraints and failures in response to the pandemic have social, medical, productivity, and economic implications. It compounds health equity issues and confronts with excess mortality, higher chronic disease prevalence, and risk factors. Despite initial progress in vaccination against COVID-19 and attempts to speed up vaccination, the Western Balkan lags behind. Infodemic and low trust in institutions are among the main factors associated with low success and adverse effects on other vaccination programs. This presentation aims to shed light on the importance of health literacy in resilient communities supported by inclusive governance. Methods A narrative review based on literature on inclusive governance, health literacy, and resilient communities during COVID-19 and other emergencies. Primary sources are databases, scientific articles, Health System Response Monitor, and observations by ECDC and OECD. Results Results show that characteristics of resilient communities in possessing knowledge and ability to assess risk, manage an emergency, monitor change, and address threats stand out. Many studies highlight the interconnectedness of community members with the wider external environment and their participation in decision-making to improve health services. Examples include interventions for developing future vaccination programs in program planning, conducting sound evaluations, transferring results to those who need to know, and receiving feedback. The key to this success is enhancing digital and health literacy. Conclusions COVID-19 requires cross-sectional strategies to reinforce collaborative gains and build resilient communities, ready to apply population strategies for prevention. Inclusive governance and a bottom-up approach will be essential to optimize the response to future challenges.

The Importance of Health Literacy in Addressing Eye Health and Eye Care Disparities

Disparities in eye health and eye care frequently result from a lack of understanding of ocular diseases and limited use of ophthalmic health services by various populations. The purpose of this article is to describe the principle of health literacy and its central role in enhancing health, and how its absence can result in poorer health outcomes. The article evaluates the current status of health literacy in visual health and disparities that exist among populations. It also explores ways to improve health literacy as a means of reducing disparities in visual health and eye care. Advancing dissemination of health information and enhancing health literacy may help not only to reduce healthcare barriers in the underserved populations but also to lessen visual health disparities.

The factors in older adults’ health literacy in the field of physical activity: a qualitative study

BackgroundOlder adults are one of the most vulnerable groups to the undesirable effects of low health literacy. Inadequate health literacy in older adults is associated with decreased physical activity, deviation from the path of health, and suffering from various diseases. Considering the role and importance of health literacy in promoting physical activity and improving health in older adults and the hypothesis that there are certain factors associated with health literacy in the field of physical activity, this study is aimed at understanding the factors related to older adults’ health literacy about physical activity.MethodsThis study is a qualitative study on older adults 60 to 75 years old in retirement centers in Kermanshah, Iran, in 2020. Totally, 25 participants were recruited through purposeful sampling with maximum variation until data saturation. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed using directed qualitative content analysis.ResultsBy analyzing the manuscripts obtained from the interviews, 59 initial codes were extracted, which were reduced to 32 main codes after careful assessment. The main codes were grouped into 13 subcategories under 5 categories. Subcategories are the detected factors that are related to health literacy and categories are the five aspects of health literacy including access, reading skill, comprehension, evaluation and decision-making, and application of information. Health literacy was the main theme that encompassed the categories.ConclusionThis study provided a comprehensive understanding of beliefs, opinions and factors related to older adults’ health literacy about physical activity. According to these findings, physical problems and diseases are not obstacles to making decisions and applying physical activity information in older adults who have a high understanding and proper evaluation of physical activity recommendations. Support, advertising, and organizational facilities are related to all dimensions of older adults’ health literacy about physical activity, while socio-economic factors are related to the dimensions of access, comprehension, decision-making, and application of information. The factors related to older adults’ health literacy about physical activity that were identified in this study, can be used by organizations that are responsible for policy-making, decision-making, and implementing physical activity promotion programs to improve the health in older adults.

Barriers to Enrollment in Rheumatology Research: Who, What, Where, When, and Why?

Despite the evidence that complicated rheumatic diseases are more prevalent and severe in ethnic minorities, rheumatology research is afflicted with inadequate patient representation. It is lacking in ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. The objective of this study is to identify barriers to enrollment in rheumatology research and propose possible solutions to overcome these barriers.In this study, 184 patients from two rheumatology clinics (Safety Net clinic, a university-based clinic) were surveyed for concerns regarding participation in clinical research. Patients were asked to rank their top five of eight concerns. Data were then stratified by self-reported ethnicity and clinic site to determine ranking differences in both groups.Fear of risks associated with clinical research was ranked as the primary barrier in all ethnicities. More non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) (24.4%) ranked work responsibilities as a primary barrier compared to Hispanics (10%). Fear of discovering a serious illness as a primary barrier was more frequent at the Safety Net clinic (25%) compared to the university-based clinic (6.3%) and ranked more frequently in the top five in Hispanics compared to NHW.Fears associated with research risks, work responsibilities, and fear of discovering a serious illness were the top-ranked barriers to enrollment in research among patients. However, differences in rankings between ethnicities and clinic sites were identified. This sheds light on the importance of health literacy and the responsibility of researchers in addressing gaps in communication while acknowledging potential cultural components that warrant further investigation.

Evolution of Scientific Production on Health Literacy and Health Education-A Bibliometric Analysis.

In the last few years, there has been an emphasis on the importance of health literacy (HL) and health education (HE) as basic tools to empower individuals and the community. The increasing interest in HL and HE has been observed through the evolution of publications and the nature of the main trends in the last few years. Knowing how HL and HE have evolved in scientific publications can help us to identify trends and set work priorities in this scope. Based on this, a bibliometric analysis (from 2000 to 2021) was conducted in two phases: first, an analysis was performed on the publications included in the Web of Science (WOS); second, a more specific analysis was conducted on the Core Collection from WOS. The data were analyzed with two software programs, the and Bibliometrix package for RStudio, and VOSviewer to analyze number of publications, citations, authors, collaborations, keywords trends, keywords evolutions and clusters of related terms. A total of 1799 articles were found in the first phase, and 727 in the second. The results from both analyses showed that the publications increased unequally until 2020, and considerably decreased in 2021; however, in spite of this, the number of citations remained constant. Likewise, five word clusters related with HL and HE were identified. D. Nutbeam stood out as the most prolific author on the subject, the USA as the country with the most publications, and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health as having the most articles on the subject. This analysis may be a useful and helpful tool for future studies on the subject.

The importance of health literacy in cancer awareness

The importance of health literacy in cancer awareness

Psychometric Properties of the Health Literacy Survey European Questionnaire-12

The importance of health literacy has increased as the public awareness of health has increased. Health Literacy Survey European Questionnaire-47 (HLS-EU-Q47) is a representative assessment tool for evaluating health literacy, and its psychometric properties have been examined in various countries. This study analyzed the item-level psychometric properties of a short version of the HLS-EU-Q47 using a Rasch measurement model. We collected 254 Korean adults who completed the 12 items of the HLS-EU-Q47 in hospital settings. We used confirmation factor analysis (CFA) to examine the unidimensionality assumption of the HLS-EU-Q12. We analyzed item fit, precision, and differential item functioning (DIF) across sex, age and education groups. The CFA model confirmed that HLS-EU-Q12 satisfies the unidimensionality assumption (CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.09) and no local independence in the 12 test items (residual correlations ranged from -0.16 to 0.19). The HLS-EU-Q12 demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.90) and no DIF across sex, age and education groups (p > 0.05). The person strata by the instrument were 3.80, which is equivalent to a traditional reliability value of 0.87. In short, the study findings indicate that the HLS-EU-Q12 has good psychometric properties with the 254 Korean adults. Since the HLS-EU-Q12 can accurately and precisely evaluate the health literacy of Korean adults, this instrument could be used in clinical settings.

Declines in health literacy and health-related quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study of the Japanese general population

BackgroundDuring the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the importance of health literacy (HL) was addressed by public health researchers. We longitudinally examined the changes in general HL and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak and 1 year later, and how general HL before the outbreak was related to changes in HRQOL in the Japanese general population.MethodsAmong the Japanese residents aged 20–79 years who participated in our previous study in 2017, 826 were followed-up via self-administered questionnaires in January 2020 and February 2021, for the purposes of this study. The HRQOL was measured using the SF-8, a short version of the SF-36 Health Survey, and general HL was measured using the short form of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HL-SF12) in the 2020 and 2021 surveys.ResultsThe physical and mental dimensions of HRQOL as well as general HL declined significantly from immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak to 1 year later (p = .010, p < .001 and p < .001, respectively). The decline in HRQOL, especially the mental dimension, was more significant among women. A lower economic status was also related to a greater decline in HRQOL (p = .026 for the physical dimension and p = .012 for the mental dimension). Higher general HL before the COVID-19 outbreak was associated with a lesser decline in HRQOL in both the physical and mental dimensions (p = .040 and p < .001, respectively) after controlling for possible confounding variables such as gender and economic status.ConclusionsHealthcare support is crucial for vulnerable populations during and after the pandemic. General HL may be important for attenuating the decline in HRQOL, by enabling effective use of health information and adaptive behaviors toward health threats. Further studies are needed to better understand the association between HL and HRQOL.