Research On Vocational College Students’ Health Literacy And Intervention Model

BackgroundAs a new area of research in recent years, health literacy is a significant part of health education and promotion. It is acknowledged internationally as the most economic strategy to maintain health of population. Health literacy level influences the national public health and individual health care to large extent. Low level of health literacy can cause unnecessary health expenditure, and bring negative effect to social health status and national health system. For individuals, low health literacy influences personal health condition and healthcare behaviors.Study of health literacy in China is in its primary stages, and the first nation-wide survey revealed the lack of health literacy among citizens, which indicates the importance to carry out the study on health literacy intervention. International researchers have identified that, health literacy is a critical index reflecting effect of health education and health promotion, which are effective tools required to improve health status in population.Most researches of health literacy focused on community residents while neglecting other population types like vocational college students, who are a special group of students in higher education. Vocational college students are the third batch of admission in college entrance examination, and their overall quality is much lower than that of undergraduate students. Therefore, it’s meaningful to research on current conditions of vocational college students and appropriate intervention model required to improve their health literacy levels. ObjectiveThis study is to investigate health literacy level among vocational college students’ in Tengzhou, Shandong Province, and to analyze influential factors relevant to health literacy. Also, to determine the appropriate intervention model needed to improve health literacy and to evaluate the intervention’s effects. Our findings will provide basic evidence for designing specific intervention strategy to enhance health literacy status among vocational college students.Method1. Researchers administered health literacy questionnaires to vocational college students to obtain their current views on health literacy condition in Tengzhou, including a score of their current basic information, fundamental health knowledge, healthy lifestyle and behavior and health skill; and to analyze the influential factors.2. Current and expected ways by which vocational college students learned health information were investigated and intervention measures were created based on it.3. Interventions were implemented and evaluated for their effects. This included holding health education lectures, organizing students to watch66tips for health literacy, propagandizing knowledge by QQ, making blackboard newspaper in classroom, handing out Health Literacy for Chinese Citizen in class. We compared the differences between these varied intervention measures by scores of every part in questionnaires administered before and after the intervention modules.ResultBefore the interventions,9.88%students were health literate. The percentage of students equipped with fundamental knowledge and concepts, healthy lifestyle and behavior and basic skills were26.69%,1.65%and66.06%respectively. After implementing the intervention,24.11%students were health literate. The percentage of students equipped with fundamental knowledge and concepts, healthy lifestyle and behavior increased to39.81%,13.59%respectively while percentage for basic skills reduced to62.62%.Conclusion1. The health literacy level of citizens in Tengzhou is similar to that of citizens in Shandong Province, but three parts of health literacy are not balanced. Main noted barriers included healthy lifestyle and behavior literacy. Students, who had healthy lifestyle literacy only accounted for1.65%, significantly lower than percentage of citizens in Shandong Province, which is8.09%.2. Gender, major, family income and other multiple factors influence vocational college students’health literacy level. Hence different intervention methods to promote their health literacy according to demographic characteristics must be employed.3. The implemented interventions were considered effective because scores of health literacy and its three components increased after the intervention.4. Students with the best intervention effect prefer health lecture, but it’s necessary for school to have professional teachers. Self-studying the66tips for health literacy is a quite convenient, economic and practical intervention measure.5. We should promote health education among vocational college students, discover original methods to improve their health literacy and carry out health literacy surveillance regularly.