Research On The Current Health Literacy Status And Influencing Factors Of Residents In 7 Counties In Henan Province In 2018

ObjectiveInvestigate the health literacy status,health-related behaviors and health conditions of residents in poverty-stricken counties in Henan Province,and analyze the influencing factors of health literacy level.Provide data support for the government and relevant departments to improve the health promotion and education-related policies and measures of residents in relatively poor areas,promote the improvement of the health literacy level of residents in economically underdeveloped areas,and improve their quality of life.MethodsA multi-stage cluster random sampling method was used to select 1,700permanent residents from 7 poverty-stricken counties in Henan Province from May to October 2018.The household questionnaire survey was conducted on 15～69 year-old permanent residents.The questionnaire used the"Chinese Citizen Health Literacy Monitoring Questionnaire",including the sociodemographic characteristics,health-related behaviors and health conditions of the respondents.Statistical description uses indicators such as constituent ratios,relative numbers,rate values.Univariate analysis of health literacy level uses ~2test,and multivariate analysis uses multivariate Logistics regression model.ResultsA total of 1,700 permanent residents were surveyed in this household survey,and1,661 valid questionnaires were obtained,and the effective response rate of the questionnaire was 97.71%.The smoking rate and drinking rate of the survey subjects were 19.63%and 12.28%,respectively;the prevalence of chronic diseases was34.56%;the proportions of self-rated health status were 55.03%,34.80%and 10.17%,respectively.The overall health literacy possession rate of residents in poverty-stricken areas in Henan Province is 4.27%,with an average score of 31.99±11.86 points.Among them,basic knowledge and concepts,healthy lifestyles and behaviors,health skills and other three aspects of health literacy are 10.54%,7.10%and 5.54%,respectively.The six types of health literacy are ranked as safe and as low as possible.First aid(28.84%),scientific health concept(28.36%),basic medical care(9.39%),infectious disease prevention(8.91%),health information(8.49%),chronic disease prevention(7.89%).The results of the multi-factor Logistic regression model show that four factors,gender,age,place of residence and education level,have a significant impact on the overall health literacy level of residents in poor areas.The health literacy possession rate of men is lower than that of women(OR=0.383,95%CI:0.214～0.683);compared with residents of the 60～69 age group,the health literacy attainment rate of the age group of 15 years old and above 30 years old is the highest(OR=5.927,95%CI:1.819～19.317),followed by the age group 30 years old and above 45 years old(OR=4.435,95%CI:1.467～13.403);urban residents have a higher rate of health literacy than rural residents(OR=1.714,95%CI:1.003～2.929);the health literacy possession rate increases with the increase of education level.Compared with the population with a college/bachelor degree or above,the residents with illiteracy or little literacy have the lowest health literacy possession rate(OR=0.021,95%CI:0.002～0.184),followed by elementary school education(OR=0.093,95%CI:0.031～0.298)and junior high school education(OR=0.185,95%CI:0.076～0.450).Conclusions(1)The smoking rate and drinking rate of survey subjects are both high,and the male group’s smoking and drinking behaviors account for a relatively large proportion.(2)The survey subjects have a high prevalence of chronic diseases and self-rated health status.(3)The overall health literacy of the survey respondents is low.Among them,the health skill literacy needs to be improved urgently.The main health problems faced are the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases.(4)Men,older age groups,rural areas,and low-educated people have lower health literacy.Individualized health education can be carried out for key populations,and health information can be disseminated through multiple channels to improve their health literacy levels and reduce the incidence of people returning to poverty due to illness in relatively poor areas.