scholarly journals Assessment of Health literacy and its determinants in patients visiting tertiary care hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-225
Author(s):  
Aashi Ahmed ◽  
Bushra Anwar ◽  
Mehjabeen Qureshi ◽  
Maliha Asim ◽  
Nadia Nisar

Background: Health literacy refers to the ability to access, understand and use health related information to promote good health. It is required to achieve good health of an individual. Good health literacy has been shown to improve health outcomes of a person and is now the focus of many researches internationally. The objective of the study was to assess health literacy levels and its determinants in patients visiting tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in three public sector tertiary care hospitals in duration of four months. 450 adults of either gender with age > 18 years capable of providing informed consent and able to communicate in any of the local languages were selected from outpatient and emergency departments. The data entry and statistical analysis were done using SPSS version 23. Results: 26.2% of people had poor health literacy, 56.4% had satisfactory health literacy whereas only 17.3% had good health literacy. Health literacy was poorest in domain of disease prevention (lowest mean score of 2.3+.86). Mean health literacy was significantly positively associated with higher income, and higher frequency of watching health-related television programs. Conclusion: Health literacy levels were found to be low in our study population. Gaps in health literacy should be addressed by more research and interventions. The health educators (health care professionals) can play a major role in helping to enhance the health literacy and act as an advocate for health education.

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 261-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philcy Philip ◽  
Amy Villarosa ◽  
Anitha Gopinath ◽  
Carolin Elizabeth ◽  
Gift Norman ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 2313-2321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lubna Samad ◽  
Fayez Jawed ◽  
Sana Zehra Sajun ◽  
Mohammad Hussham Arshad ◽  
Naila Baig-Ansari

PLoS ONE ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. e1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Raoof ◽  
Haq Nawaz ◽  
Rabeeya Nusrat ◽  
Aqueel Hussain Pabaney ◽  
Ali Raza Randhawa ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (231) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Pokharel ◽  
Bikash Lal Shrestha ◽  
Dharmendra Karn ◽  
Ashish Dhakal ◽  
Abha Kiran K.C. ◽  
...  

Introduction: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis has increased significantly globally over the last two decades. Detection of sensitizing aeroallergens plays a crucial role in the diagnosis and management of this troublesome disease. This study aims to investigate the spectrum of aeroallergens sensitization in patients with allergic rhinitis in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of our hospital between January 2016 to December 2019. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee (No: 210/19). Patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis were enrolled using the convenience sampling technique. Data entry and analysis was done using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0. Results: Among 170 patients, altogether 103 (60.6%) patients yielded positive responses on the skin prick test. The most prevalent aeroallergens were Lepidoglyphus 86 (50.60%), Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus 85 (50%), Dermatophagoides farina 82 (48.20%), Thyrophagus 50 (29.40%), Blomia 46 (27.10%), Acarus 43 (25.30%), cat dander 26 (15.30%), dog dander 24 (14.10%), cow and buffalo dander 20 (11.8%), ragweed 20 (11.8%), grass pollen 18 (10.60%) and mugwort 17 (10%). Conclusions: This study highlights that the frequency of aeroallergens based on skin prick test in patients presenting to a tertiary care hospital which showed the dominance of house dust mites, dog and cat hair, pollen, and grasses. Reduced exposure and training of patients about protection against these agents will possibly help in controlling the severity of allergic rhinitis in this region.


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