Health literacy

In recent years, the role of health literacy in determining appropriate attitudes and behaviours to health has received extensive attention. According to the World Health Organisation, health literacy refers to the ability of individuals to access, understand, and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health for themselves, their families, and their communities. It has been increasingly recognised that this information should be tailored to the specific needs of the community (e.g., performing artists) to empower them to take an active role in improving their own health outcomes. One concern recognised for well over a decade now has been the challenge for non-health-trained individuals to recognise what is reliable when searching through the highly variable sources of “health information” published on the internet.

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Measuring the constructs of health literacy in the Iranian adult Kurdish population

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10589-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Arezoo Yari ◽

Marzieh Soofimajidpoor ◽

Ghobad Moradi ◽

Farzam Bidarpoor ◽

Haidar Nadrian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Information Access ◽

Good Health ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Poor Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Poor Health Literacy

Abstract Background Health literacy is essential to self-care, which is an important precedence to improve the quality of healthcare services and a key factor in health. It also plays a pivotal role in decision-making in various health fields. Therefore, policymakers consider health literacy to be a primary tool to promote community health and enhance the proper use of healthcare services. The present study aimed to assess the health literacy status of the Kurdish population in Kurdistan province, Iran based on the nine constructs of the Iranian health literacy questionnaire (IHLQ) individually and collectively and determine the significant effects of demographic variables on health literacy. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on the Iranian adult Kurdish population living in the urban and rural areas of Kurdistan province, willing to participate during April 2017–September 2018. Data were collected using the IHLQ. The sample size was determined to be 980 people, with 490 in the rural areas and 490 in the urban areas. The researchers visited potential participants at their doorstep, asking them to complete the questionnaire. The willing participants were assisted in completing the IHLQ in case they were illiterate; the questions and answers were read by the researchers to the participants, and the responses were recorded. Results About 50.4% (n = 494) of the Kurdish population had poor health literacy, while 34.0% (n = 333) had average health literacy, and 15.6% (n = 153) had good health literacy. Meanwhile, 60.2% of the participants obtained poor scores in the construct of health information access, and 74.1% (n = 726) obtained poor scores in the individual empowerment construct. In addition, the analysis of the adjusted model indicated that education level (lowest β = 7.42; P = 0.001) and in male participants (β = − 1.10; P = 0.001) were significantly associated with higher health literacy. Conclusion According to the results, the investigated Kurdish population mostly had average or low health literacy. Therefore, proper strategies should be adopted to enhance the health literacy of this population and increase their access to health information. Furthermore, effective training should be provided to these individuals (especially vulnerable social groups) to improve their individual capabilities to compensate for poor health literacy.

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Research-Based Applied Psychophysiology

Research-Based Perspectives on the Psychophysiology of Yoga - Advances in Medical Diagnosis, Treatment, and Care ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-2788-6.ch010 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 175-183

Author(s):

Ned Hartfiel ◽

Rhiannon Tudor Edwards

Keyword(s):

Perceived Stress ◽

Good Health ◽

World Health Organisation ◽

World Health ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

Applied Psychophysiology ◽

Randomised Trials ◽

Musculoskeletal Conditions ◽

The World ◽

Comprehensive Search

Recent research indicates that yoga can be effective for reducing both musculoskeletal conditions and stress. In the workplace, musculoskeletal conditions and stress are the two most common reasons for sickness absence. The World Health Organisation has identified the workplace as a priority area for promoting good health. As a result, yoga is increasingly being offered in workplace settings to improve the physical health and mental wellbeing of employees. In September 2014, a comprehensive search of relevant electronic databases was performed to determine the effectiveness of yoga in workplace settings. Eight randomised trials met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that the effectiveness of yoga in the workplace was strong for musculoskeletal conditions, moderate for perceived stress, limited for sleep quality and conflicting for heart rate variability. Overall, this evidence is promising, yet limited due to a lack of high quality studies of yoga in workplace settings.

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Research-Based Applied Psychophysiology

Alternative Pain Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-1680-5.ch011 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 254-264

Author(s):

Ned Hartfiel ◽

Rhiannon Tudor Edwards

Keyword(s):

Perceived Stress ◽

Good Health ◽

World Health Organisation ◽

World Health ◽

Mental Wellbeing ◽

Applied Psychophysiology ◽

Randomised Trials ◽

Musculoskeletal Conditions ◽

The World ◽

Comprehensive Search

Recent research indicates that yoga can be effective for reducing both musculoskeletal conditions and stress. In the workplace, musculoskeletal conditions and stress are the two most common reasons for sickness absence. The World Health Organisation has identified the workplace as a priority area for promoting good health. As a result, yoga is increasingly being offered in workplace settings to improve the physical health and mental wellbeing of employees. In September 2014, a comprehensive search of relevant electronic databases was performed to determine the effectiveness of yoga in workplace settings. Eight randomised trials met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that the effectiveness of yoga in the workplace was strong for musculoskeletal conditions, moderate for perceived stress, limited for sleep quality and conflicting for heart rate variability. Overall, this evidence is promising, yet limited due to a lack of high quality studies of yoga in workplace settings.

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Health literacy practices in social virtual worlds and the influence on health behaviour

Global Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/1757975918793334 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 34-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Evelyn McElhinney ◽

Lisa Kidd ◽

Francine M. Cheater

Keyword(s):

Social Skills ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Behaviour ◽

Virtual World ◽

Literacy Practices ◽

Physical World ◽

Social Model ◽

World Health ◽

Distributed Model

This study explored how health information accessed via a 3D social virtual world and the representation of ‘self’ through the use of an avatar impact physical world health behaviour. In-depth interviews were conducted in a sample of 25 people, across 10 countries, who accessed health information in a virtual world (VW): 12 females and 13 males. Interviews were audio-recorded via private in-world voice chat or via private instant message. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The social skills and practices evidenced demonstrate how the collective knowledge and skills of communities in VWs can influence improvements in individual and community health literacy through a distributed model. The findings offer support for moving away from the idea of health literacy as a set of skills which reside within an individual to a sociocultural model of health literacy. Social VWs can offer a place where people can access health information in multiple formats through the use of an avatar, which can influence changes in behaviour in the physical world and the VW. This can lead to an improvement in social skills and health literacy practices and represents a social model of health literacy.

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Oral health literacy. A concise review.

International Journal of Medical and Surgical Sciences ◽

10.32457/ijmss.2018.010 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 38-43

Author(s):

Camila Delgado ◽

Yurissan Salamanca

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Reading Skills ◽

Good Health ◽

World Health ◽

Oral Health Literacy ◽

The People ◽

Social Abilities ◽

Health Organization ◽

Gain Access

According to the World Health Organization, Health Literacy (HL) corresponds to the cognitive and social abilities that determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access, to understand, and to use information in ways that provide and maintain good health. The development of HL in dentistry came late, and only in the last decade did it reach a level similar to that in the medical area. In dentistry, HL centered on the concept of Oral Health Literacy (OHL), defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic information on oral health and services that is necessary to make appropriate health decisions. The evidence suggests that people with low HL have worse health status and greater use of medical resources, which results in an increase in costs in the general population. Determinants of the level of OHL include age, level of education, and socioeconomic level. These determinants are reflected in low oral health and in less access to information or less understanding regarding care, pathologies, or dental treatments. The instruments for measuring HL and OHL are mainly aimed at recognizing arithmetic and reading skills, which are not fully related to the ability of the people surveyed to find, understand and use information related to health. OHL is an important issue at the level of health programs, because knowledge of OHL helps in medical practice, in disease prevention and in health promotion. OHL instruments must have validated and demonstrate adequate psychometric properties.

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Health education needs of the youth

Curationis ◽

10.4102/curationis.v8i4.646 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Vehlia De Jong

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Young People ◽

Large Degree ◽

Good Health ◽

World Health Organisation ◽

World Health ◽

Age Group ◽

Black And White ◽

The World ◽

Education Needs

The World Health Organisation has declared that the year 1985 is the International Year of the Youth — youth being defined as the young people in the thirteen to twenty four- year age group. This age group often escapes contact with the medical and nursing professions because of their general good health and therefore minimal need for medical care. However, the youth in South Africa, both Black and White, do have health educational needs that are to a large degree neglected and unmet.

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Poor health literacy may contribute to excess diabetes-related complications among disadvantaged groups

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e556572006-003 ◽

2002 ◽

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Poor Health ◽

Disadvantaged Groups ◽

Poor Health Literacy

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A Collaborative Study to Establish the Second International Standard for Streptokinase

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1647298 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 64 (02) ◽

pp. 267-269 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

A B Heath ◽

P J Gaffney

Keyword(s):

High Purity ◽

Collaborative Study ◽

World Health Organisation ◽

World Health ◽

Clot Lysis ◽

Current Standard ◽

International Standard ◽

Accelerated Degradation ◽

The World ◽

International Collaborative Study

SummaryAn International Standard for Streptokinase - Streptodomase (62/7) has been used to calibrate high purity clinical batches of SK since 1965. An international collaborative study, involving six laboratories, was undertaken to replace this standard with a high purity standard for SK. Two candidate preparations (88/826 and 88/824) were compared by a clot lysis assay with the current standard (62/7). Potencies of 671 i.u. and 461 i.u. were established for preparations A (88/826) and B (88/824), respectively.Either preparation appeared suitable to serve as a standard for SK. However, each ampoule of preparation A (88/826) contains a more appropriate amount of SK activity for potency testing, and is therefore preferred. Accelerated degradation tests indicate that preparation A (88/826) is very stable.The high purity streptokinase preparation, coded 88/826, has been established by the World Health Organisation as the 2nd International Standard for Streptokinase, with an assigned potency of 700 i.u. per ampoule.

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Comparative docking of SARS-CoV-2 receptors antagonists from repurposing drugs

10.26434/chemrxiv.12044538.v4 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Micael Davi Lima de Oliveira ◽

Kelson Mota Teixeira de Oliveira

Keyword(s):

World Health Organisation ◽

World Health ◽

Lung Cells ◽

The Novel ◽

High Modulation ◽

Main Protease ◽

The World ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Viral Receptors ◽

Theoretical Results

According to the World Health Organisation, until 16 June, 2020, the number of confirmed and notified cases of COVID-19 has already exceeded 7.9 million with approximately 434 thousand deaths worldwide. This research aimed to find repurposing antagonists, that may inhibit the activity of the main protease (Mpro) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as partially modulate the ACE2 receptors largely found in lung cells, and reduce viral replication by inhibiting Nsp12 RNA polymerase. Docking molecular simulations were performed among a total of 60 structures, most of all, published in the literature against the novel coronavirus. The theoretical results indicated that, in comparative terms, paritaprevir, ivermectin, ledipasvir, and simeprevir, are among the most theoretical promising drugs in remission of symptoms from the disease. Furthermore, also corroborate indinavir to the high modulation in viral receptors. The second group of promising drugs includes remdesivir and azithromycin. The repurposing drugs HCQ and chloroquine were not effective in comparative terms to other drugs, as monotherapies, against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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