The Contribution of Health Literacy to Disparities in Self-Rated Health Status and Preventive Health Behaviors in Older Adults

Abstract The prevalence of diabetes among older adults has increased substantially and health complications resulting from diabetes have significant adverse effects on health status of older adults. While diabetes cannot be cured, it can be managed successfully with healthy lifestyle choices. The purpose of this study is to examine the disparities in health status, health behaviors, and preventive health services for older adults with diabetes. This study used data from the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The sample included older adults 50 and over. Health behaviors included exercise, smoking, and heavy alcohol drinking. Preventive health services included dental visit, flu shot, and colorectal cancer screening. Chi-Square analysis and weighted multivariate logistic regression was performed. Not surprisingly, older adults with diabetes were significantly more likely to be in poor health than those without diabetes. Compared to non-diabetic group, older adults with diabetes were more likely to have had no exercise in the previous month. Interestingly, more older adults with diabetes reported having visited dentist, had flu shot and colonoscopy than those without diabetes. In both groups, older adults who presented health behaviors and received preventive health services were more likely to report good health compared to those who did not. The results suggest that further efforts are needed to address the health disparities for older adults with diabetes. Given the risk of comorbidities and its complications for older adults with diabetes, further research should be directed toward designing better health promotion programs and policies for older adults with diabetes.

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The Roles of Health Literacy to Disparities in Preventive Health Behaviors Among Asian Immigrants

Annals of Epidemiology ◽

10.1016/j.annepidem.2014.06.094 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 24 (9) ◽

pp. 702

Author(s):

Xiaoxiao Lu ◽

Hee-Soon Juon ◽

Sunmin Lee

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Preventive Health ◽

Asian Immigrants ◽

Preventive Health Behaviors

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The Relationship between Functional Health Literacy, Self-Rated Health, and Social Support between Younger and Older Adults in Ghana

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16173188 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (17) ◽

pp. 3188 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Padmore Amoah

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Older Adults ◽

Young Adults ◽

Health Status ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Emotional Support ◽

Functional Health ◽

Functional Health Literacy ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

The Impact

It is well established that health literacy positively affects health outcomes, and social support influences this association. What remains unclear is which aspect of social support (instrumental, informational, and emotional support) is responsible for this effect and whether the influence differs from one population group to another. This study addresses these lacunae. It examines the impact each type of support makes on the relation between functional health literacy (FHL) and self-rated health status among younger and older adults in Ghana. Data were pooled from two cross-sectional surveys, together comprising 521 participants in the Ashanti Region. The results indicated that young adults were more likely to possess sufficient FHL and perceive their health more positively than older adults. While FHL was positively associated with health status, the relation was stronger when young adults received a high level of emotional support. Among older persons, informational support substantially moderated the association between FHL and health status. Thus, social support modifies the relations between FHL and health status among younger and older adults in different ways and to different degrees. Therefore, interventions to improve FHL and health amongst younger and older adults should pay due regard to relevant aspects of social support.

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The Impact of Preventive Health Behaviors and Risk Factors on Health Status of Ghanaians

Global Journal of Health Science ◽

10.5539/gjhs.v5n5p124 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Bashiru I.I. Saeed ◽

A.R Abdul-Aziz ◽

Samuel Blay Nguah ◽

Xicang Zhao

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Health Status ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Preventive Health ◽

Preventive Health Behaviors ◽

The Impact

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Associations between Health Literacy, Cancer-Related Knowledge, and Preventive Health Behaviors in Community-Dwelling Korean Adults

Journal of Health Communication ◽

10.1080/10810730.2017.1401687 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (12) ◽

pp. 999-1006 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Youn-Jung Son ◽

Sun-Hee Kim ◽

Gi Yon Kim ◽

Heesook Son

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Preventive Health ◽

Preventive Health Behaviors ◽

Korean Adults

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Self-rated health among older adults in two fast ageing European countries: Evidence from Italy and Serbia

Vojnosanitetski pregled ◽

10.2298/vsp160914381p ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 75 (7) ◽

pp. 664-674 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Giovanni Piumatti ◽

Francesco Lietz ◽

Jelena Marinkovic ◽

Vesna Bjegovic-Mikanovic

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Status ◽

Health Behavior ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Chronic Diseases ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Later Life ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

Two Samples

Background/Aim. Self-rated health (SRH) is a widely adopted tool to compare health across countries. Relationships of socio-demographics with SRH in later life have been extensively cross-nationally observed. However, cross-comparisons of the effects of health behaviors (i.e., eating habits, smoking, and alcohol consumption) and health status (i.e., chronic diseases) on SRH are less frequent. Our aim was to examine SRH differences between older adults in Italy and Serbia and to observe the role of predictors of SRH particularly referring to health behaviors in both countries. Methods. Two samples of 4,406 Italians and 3,539 Serbs aged 65 and older were extracted from national health surveys conducted in 2013. For this secondary analysis, SRH, sociodemographics, health status variables, and health behavior factors were selected. In the multivariate logistic regression models, SRH was the dependent variable while the selected independent predictors were socio-demographics, characteristics related to health status and to health behavior. Results. Both Italians (30.3%) and Serbs (22.3%) reported lower values of good- or very good-SRH than the European average (36.9%). The logistic regressions showed that Serbs reported poor?SRH significantly more often than Italians. Moreover, gender, education level, chronic diseases, and daily life limitations resulted as significant predictors of SRH in both national samples. In addition, vegetables intake was positively associate to SRH among Italians, while among Serbs an adequate fruits intake was positively associated to SRH. Conclusion. Health behavior and health status factors are associated with better SRH in the population aged 65 and older. The effects differ between countries. It is essential that decision-makers of the implementation of international preventive strategies take into account the specific characteristics of countries in the organization of interventions for the aged population.

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Factors associated with COVID-19 preventive health behaviors among the general public in Mexico City and the State of Mexico

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0254435 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (7) ◽

pp. e0254435

Author(s):

Rosalinda Sánchez-Arenas ◽

Svetlana V. Doubova ◽

Marco Antonio González-Pérez ◽

Ricardo Pérez-Cuevas

Keyword(s):

Health Literacy ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Mexico City ◽

Negative Binomial ◽

Preventive Measures ◽

The State ◽

Preventive Health ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Preventive Health Behaviors ◽

Preventive Actions

Objective To evaluate factors associated with COVID-19 preventive health behaviors among adults in Mexico City and the State of Mexico. Methods and findings We conducted a cross-sectional survey from June to October 2020 through a structured, internet-based questionnaire in a non-probabilistic sample of adults >18 years living in Mexico City and the State of Mexico. The independent variables included sociodemographic and clinical factors; health literacy; access to COVID-19 information; and perception of COVID-19 risk and of preventive measures’ effectiveness. The dependent variable was COVID-19 preventive health behaviors, defined as the number of preventive actions adopted by participants. The data were analyzed through multivariate negative binomial regression analysis. The survey was completed by 1,030 participants. Most participants were women (70.7%), had a high school or above level of education (98.8%), and had adequate health literacy and access to COVID-19 information. Only 18% perceived having a high susceptibility to COVID-19, though 83.8% recognized the disease’s severity and 87.1% the effectiveness of preventive measures. The median number of COVID-19 preventive actions was 13.5 (range 0–19). The factors associated with preventive health behavior were being female, of older age, a professional worker, a homemaker, or a retiree; engaging in regular physical exercise; having high health literacy and access to COVID-19 information sources; and perceiving COVID-19 as severe and preventive measures as effective. Conclusion People with high education and internet access in Mexico City and the State of Mexico reported significant engagement in COVID-19 preventive actions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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A Population Study of Health Status Among Sexual Minority Older Adults in Select U.S. Geographic Regions

Health Education & Behavior ◽

10.1177/1090198118818240 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 426-435 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hongying Dai ◽

Ilan H. Meyer

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Substance Use ◽

Health Disparities ◽

Sexual Orientation ◽

Health Behaviors ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Sexual Minority ◽

Preventive Health ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Preventive Health Behaviors

Objective. This study seeks to examine the health disparities of sexual minority older adults. Method. We used a probability sample of adults older than 50 years in select U.S. regions from the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System with administration of the sexual orientation question ( n = 350,778). Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were performed to examine health disparities in general health conditions, lifetime chronic health conditions, limitations in activities, substance use, access to care and preventive health behaviors by sexual minority status (straight, gay/lesbian, bisexual, other, and nonresponse), stratified by sex (male vs. female) and age group (50-64 vs. 65+ years). Results. Compared with their straight peers, sexual minority older adults had disparities in some health outcomes, including a higher prevalence of depressive disorder and substance use. However, the disparities were not uniform across gender and age groups. Both men and women sexual minorities had some advantages as well, related to preventive health behaviors (e.g., HIV testing), as compared with their straight peers. Nonrespondents in sexual orientation generally had better health outcomes than their straight peers. Conclusions. This study identifies health disparities among subgroups of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals older adults and highlights the need to assess variability related to gender, sexual identity, and age of this high-risk population.

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