scholarly journals Health literacy status among pregnant women in a Brazilian conditional cash transfer programme: a cross-sectional investigation

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e4979119650
Author(s):  
Álex Moreira Herval ◽  
Fabiana Vargas-Ferreira ◽  
Efigênia Ferreira e Ferreira ◽  
Viviane Elisângela Gomes ◽  
Andréa Maria Duarte Vargas
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Functional Health Literacy ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Literacy Survey

Objective: To investigate the overall score and the variables associated with health literacy of pregnant women benefited from a conditional cash transfer programme. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with pregnant women benefited from a Brazilian conditional cash transfer programme. We used a validated short health literacy survey developed for research on public health and health promotion. The level of health literacy (high or low) was considered a determining variable. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analysis was applied to the data collected. Results: Only the two following variables were associated with health literacy: participation in health education activities and the choice of mothers to seek advice regarding pregnancy. Functional health literacy was higher when pregnant women participated in health education activities. Critical health literacy was higher when pregnant women sought advice from their mothers, friends, and other family members. Conclusion: Health education and a social network of pregnant women should be part of prenatal care.

scholarly journals Health Literacy and Diabetes Knowledge: A Nationwide Survey in a Multi-Ethnic Population

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 9316
Author(s):  
P. V. Asharani ◽  
Jue Hua Lau ◽  
Kumarasan Roystonn ◽  
Fiona Devi ◽  
Wang Peizhi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Functional Health Literacy ◽  
Unhealthy Lifestyle ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Inadequate Health Literacy

Health literacy is a key determinant of the public health and health climate of the nation. This study examined the functional health literacy of the nation, factors associated with health literacy, and its relationship with diabetes recognition. This cross-sectional survey recruited participants (N = 2895) who were 18 years and above from a population registry through disproportionate stratified sampling. The Brief Health Literacy Screen and other questionnaires were administered through face-to-face interviews, in one of the four national languages (English, Chinese, Malay or Tamil). The majority (80.5%) had adequate functional health literacy and were able to recognise symptoms of diabetes correctly (83.5% overall; 83.7% and 82.2% in those with adequate and inadequate health literacy, respectively). Those with inadequate health literacy had a higher incidence of chronic conditions (p < 0.001) compared to those with adequate health literacy in bivariate analysis. The majority of the sample had sufficient levels of physical activity (83.3%), and more than half reported an unhealthy lifestyle (57.4%). Older age, Chinese ethnicity, those who were employed, with lower education (secondary or below), and were married had significantly higher odds of inadequate health literacy. Health literacy was not associated with lifestyle, physical activity, chronic conditions and diabetes recognition. Health literacy interventions should focus on the disadvantaged social groups for improving their health literacy.

scholarly journals HEALTH LITERACY OF INDIVIDUALS UNDERGOING DIALYSIS THERAPY

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jéssica Naylla de Melo Bezerra ◽  
Sara Rebeca de Oliveira Lessa ◽  
Marcelo Francisco do Ó ◽  
Givaneide Oliveira de Andrade Luz ◽  
Anna Karla de Oliveira Tito Borba
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
P Value ◽  
Functional Health Literacy ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Adequate Health Literacy

ABSTRACT Objective: to assess the functional levels of health literacy in individuals undergoing dialysis. Method: a cross-sectional study with 42 patients of the Nephrology Unit of a public hospital in Recife, Brazil, from May to August 2016. Data were collected through scripted interviews and chart analysis. Functional health literacy was measured using the Brazilian version of the Short-Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS®) software, version 18.0, with a univariate analysis to verify the association between independent variables and functional health literacy levels using Fisher's exact test. Results: 80.9% of the patients presented inadequate health literacy and 19.1% presented adequate health literacy. The number of correct answers remained between 0-18 in the reading comprehension and in the scheduling appointment card. Among the independent variables, only marital status (p-value=0.018) and personal income (p-value=0.009) were factors associated with the worst scores in the test, indicating that these variables influence the increase in inadequate literacy. Conclusion: the prevalence of inadequate functional literacy was high, reflecting difficulties in understanding and processing health information, which may interfere with therapeutic management and self-care.

scholarly journals Migration and integration: the case of health literacy (HLS-EU-PT) as a foundation to promote cultural sensitiveness

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Saboga-Nunes ◽  
A Silva ◽  
S Mendes ◽  
B Almeida ◽  
M R André ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Cultural Patterns ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Proxy Variable ◽  
Literacy Survey ◽  
European Health ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
A Company

Abstract Background Portugal has experienced trough-out his recent history successive migration patterns. Lately, with instability in Syria and the Mediterranean routes of migration between Africa and Europe, new challenges have emerged. One of them is related to migrants’ health and their navigation of health care system. In order to better understand cultural patterns of migrants, this research aims to explore their health literacy (HL) in the context of the European Health Literacy Survey framework (HLS-EU). Methods A total of 748 participants from the different offices of a company in the financial sector (Portugal, main land and autonomous territories) participated in a cross sectional survey (CAWI). Age ranged from 25 to 65 years and HL was measured using the HLS-EU instrument validated to Portuguese (HLS-EU-PT). Each participant was allocated to one of the groups, either of satisfactory HL (when scores ≥30) or insufficient HL (when scores &lt;30). In order to access the migrant condition, a proxy variable considered the participant’s parents origin: at least one of the parents was born in a foreign country. Results Out of the 748 participants, 4.1% (n = 31) were considered migrants. Of the migrant participants, 6.9% have inadequate, 51.7% problematic, 24.1% sufficient and 17.2% excellent HL (HLS-EU-PT). Migrants have lower levels of HL when compared with nationals in this sample (respectively 58.6% and 45.8% for insufficient HL) but this difference is not statistically significant. Conclusions Although results didn’t show an association between being migrant and lower levels of HL (when compared with nationals), it is nevertheless relevant to consider that more than 1 in every two migrants (58.6%) have insufficient HL levels. Special consideration should be given to this group to promote HL levels and further research is needed to better understand how HL and cultural sensitiveness may work for a better integration of migrants.

scholarly journals Exploring the Influencing Factors of Health Literacy among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Medicina ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 330
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Ting Chiu ◽  
Han-Wei Tsai ◽  
Ken N. Kuo ◽  
Angela Y.M. Leung ◽  
Yao-Mao Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Literacy Survey ◽  
European Health

Background and Objectives: To investigate the health literacy (HL) among older adults in Taiwan, we referenced an existing integrated model of HL to confirm the influencing factors of HL in older adults. We propose this study to examine the personal, situational, and socioenvironmental factors influencing HL among older adults. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a district hospital and affiliated community center in northern Taiwan from August 2016 to May 2017. This study used the Mandarin Chinese version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (EU-Q47). We designed three models based on the three domains of HL. Model 1 assesses personal factors. Model 2 incorporates situational factors. Model 3 adds the socioenvironmental factor. Results: We recruited 161 participants aged over 65 years. Most adults in this study had limited overall HL. The final regression model revealed that age >85 years, unknown insurance status, and dominant spoken dialect of Hakka or Taiwanese were significantly associated with higher scores of HL. Conclusions: Our study results may help clinicians with early identification of older adults at high risk for poor HL and help health administrators establish geriatric policies and health education plans.

scholarly journals Comprehension of the education handout and health literacy of pacemaker users

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 633-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackelline Evellin Moreira dos Santos ◽  
Virginia Visconde Brasil ◽  
Katarinne Lima Moraes ◽  
Jacqueline Andréia Bernardes Leão Cordeiro ◽  
Gabriela Ferreira de Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Cardiac Pacemaker ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Care Process ◽  
Functional Health Literacy ◽  
Literacy Assessment ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Cross Sectional

ABSTRACT Objective: To verify the comprehension of the education handout and the level of Functional Health Literacy of individuals with cardiac pacemaker (PM) and whether there is correlation between the comprehension and Functional Health Literacy (FHL). Method: Cross-sectional study with 63 individuals with PM who answered to comprehension tests of the handout, literacy assessment (SAHLPA-50) and cognition (MMSE). Measurements of dispersion, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were calculated. Results: Most women, study time ≤ 9 years, 66.21 (average age) presented no cognitive changes. An adequate literacy level was evidenced in 50.8% individuals with PM and satisfactory comprehension of the handout. No correlation was identified between FHL, handout comprehension, age, years of study and cognition. Conclusion: The handout comprehension assessed by individuals with appropriate FHL indicated that it can be a printed material suitable for use, aiming to improve care process and knowledge of individuals with PM.

scholarly journals Association of Functional Health Literacy with Glycemic Control: A Cross Sectional Study in Urban Population of Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Refat Mehzabin ◽  
Kazi Jahangir Hossain ◽  
Md. Moniruzzaman ◽  
S K Jakaria Been Sayeed
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Glycemic Control ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Diabetes Duration ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Functional Health Literacy ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Inadequate Glycemic Control

Background: Diabetes mellitus is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality around the world though there is huge development regarding its treatment. Many studies showed that functional health literacy has a great impact on diabetes outcome. The study assessed the relationship between functional health literacy and glycemic control in a sample of urban diabetic patients. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Bangladesh University of Health and Science Hospital, Jurain, Dhaka from January to December 2014 that included adult diabetic patients on the basis of defined selection criteria following the purposive sampling method. Functional health literacy was assessed with the short form Test of the Functional Health Literacy in Adults (s-TOFLA). Recent HbA1c was used as a measure of glycemic control and categorized into tight, fair and inadequate glycemic control. Regression models were controlled for demographic data, diabetes duration, treatment regimen, diabetes knowledge and assistance for taking medications. Results: Following the s-TOFLA scale, 60.5% of the diabetic patients had inadequate functional health literacy of them, 89.3% had inadequate glycemic control (HbA1c>8%). And those who had adequate functional health literacy (24%) of them 68.8% had tight glycemic control (HbA1c≤7%). Overall 63.0% of the respondents had inadequate glycemic control. In linear regression model low s-TOFLA scores, longer diabetes duration and lack of assistance for taking medications were associated with higher levels of HbA1c. In fully adjusted model s-TOFLA score was the variable which was more strongly associated with HbA1c (β = -0.60, P<0.001). Conclusions: The study found that low health literacy is consistently associated with inadequate glycemic control. J MEDICINE JUL 2019; 20 (1) : 19-24

Gender-based Inequalities in Health literacy among an Iranian Kurd Population: Results of a Community Survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Mahmoodi ◽  
Rahmatollah Moradzadeh ◽  
Abedin Iranpour ◽  
Fatemeh Shahi ◽  
Somayeh Azimi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Concentration Index ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Functional Health ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Functional Health Literacy ◽  
Monthly Income ◽  
Place Of Residence ◽  
Cross Sectional

Abstract Background Health literacy, as a social determinant of health, has a decisive role in providing different populations with healthcare services in an equal manner. Our aim in this study was to investigate the contribution of socio-demographic factors to functional health literacy (FHL) in a population of Iranian adults and identify differences in the contribution of these factors across genders. Methods This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 to 2016 in Sanandaj, Iran. Multistage cluster sampling was employed to recruit 1000 people older than 18 (response rate = 89.2%) from 35 urban and 10 rural health care centers. Test of functional health literacy in adults (TOFHLA) was used to assess FHL. In order to measure inequality in FHL, concentration index decomposition was used. Results In total, 869 respondents (response rate: 86.9%) with a mean age (standard deviation; SD) of 33.68 (13.0) completed TOFHLA questionnaire. More than half of participants were women (57.5%). Participants demonstrated an average TOFHLA score of 51.9. Women demonstrated slightly higher TOFHLA scores (52.2 [SD: 0.46]) compared to men (50.7 [SD: 0.4]). However, the concentration index for gender was 10.9% suggesting gender contributed only moderately to TOFHLA scores. Comparatively, 54.3% of TOFHLA differences were attributed to geographic location. Among women, place of residence, monthly income, age, education level and being head of household contributed to 43%, 32%, 13%, 11.5% and 11% of FHL inequality, respectively. Among men, however, place of residence (45.2%), size of household (15.1%) and monthly income (13.5%) contributed most to inequality in FHL. Conclusions Although gender was not the strongest contributing factor for FHL inequalities, poor FHL was mostly concentrated among men. Different factors were attributed to FHL inequality by gender, as discussed inside. Understanding these differences may assist in identifying and targeting interventions towards men and women with low levels of FHL. Our findings shed light the critical role of social determinants of health (SDH) in promoting the health literacy of populations, particularly in developing countries like Iran.

Health literacy responsiveness: a cross-sectional study among pregnant women in Denmark

2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110043
Author(s):  
Eva Brorsen ◽  
Trine D. Rasmussen ◽  
Claus T. Ekstrøm ◽  
Richard H. Osborne ◽  
Sarah F. Villadsen
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Immigrant Women ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Active Engagement ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Asian Immigrant ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Health Literacy Responsiveness

Aims: Communication barriers in healthcare encounters contribute to ethnic inequality in health outcomes. This study aimed to examine, in a large national Danish sample of women, whether ethnicity was associated with pregnant women’s Active engagement with healthcare providers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 1898 pregnant women attending 19 Danish maternity wards. The key variable of interest was maternal ethnicity among ethnic Danish, European, African and Asian immigrant women and their descendants. Syrian immigrant women were studied as a subgroup. The outcome was the health literacy questionnaire domain Ability to engage actively with healthcare providers (five-item domain scored from ‘cannot do/always difficult’ (1) to ‘always easy’ (5)) which is a reflection of a respondent’s lived experiences of engaging with healthcare providers. Adjusted mixed effect multivariate linear regression was used to compare Active engagement across groups expressed as the mean difference (95% confidence interval). Results: Lower means of Active engagement were reported for immigrant women compared to ethnic Danish women in all models. When adjusting for age, parity, complications and occupation, the difference between ethnic Danish women’s Active engagement and other groups was smallest among European –0.15 (–0.26 to –0.05), slightly larger in African –0.19 (–0.40 to 0.02), and largest in Asian immigrant women –0.31 (–0.41 to –0.21). Syrian immigrant women had the largest difference –0.42 (–0.58 to –0.27). Conclusions: Pregnant immigrant women reported lower means of Active engagement than ethnic Danish women did. Increased health literacy responsiveness in maternity care is required to mitigate the potential for differential care and health inequity.

scholarly journals Changes in food consumption among the Programa Bolsa Família participant families in Brazil

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 785-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana de Bem Lignani ◽  
Rosely Sichieri ◽  
Luciene Burlandy ◽  
Rosana Salles-Costa
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfer ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Bolsa Familia ◽  
Socio Economic Variables

AbstractObjectiveTo analyse changes and predictors of change in self-reported food intake among Brazilian families that benefitted from conditional cash transfer (CCT) implemented in the Programa Bolsa Família of the Brazilian Federal Government.DesignA cross-sectional survey.SettingThe study was conducted from September to October 2007 in a nationwide representative household sample of families included in the CCT. Socio-economic variables, perception of food consumption and food insecurity were evaluated via questionnaire, which was completed during face-to-face interviews.SubjectsFive thousand households were selected from the CCT registry.ResultsFamilies reported increased consumption of all food groups analysed, mainly cereals, processed foods, meat, milk and dairy, beans and sugar. The degree of dependence on income from the CCT was positively associated with increased self-reported intake of food items such as sugar and soft drinks. A Poisson regression revealed that the fourth quartile of CCT dependence demonstrated a twofold increase in the self-reported intake of soft drinks (relative risk (RR) = 2·3, 95 % CI 1·8, 2·9) and sugar (RR = 2·5, 95 % CI 2·1, 3·1) compared with the first quartile of CCT dependence.ConclusionsGreater purchasing power of poor families increases unhealthy food choices; thus public policies should emphasise the availability of healthy food.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document