| ObjectivesTo understand the health literacy level of the rural and urban residents in Henan province and explore the main factors which are influencing the health literacy level of urban and rural residents from the perspective of multiple factors, in order to provide the basis for developing scientific public health policies and interventions and allocating health resources rationally and efficiently which can improving the health and the health literacy of the residents.MethodsA total of 3087 persons were selected at last by a multi-stage random cluster sampling method, the 2008 Chinese National Survey Questionnaire of health literacy was used to conducted on-site survey among households.The contents of health literacy questionnaire can be divided into three areas of health literacy or the five health-related issues according to different standards, then calculate the urban and rural residents'awareness rates and the having rates of health literacy and various categories separately, finally, explore the main factors which affecting the health literacy level of urban and rural residents according to the overall scores of the health literacy questionnaire.Results3087 persons were investigated in this survey, and 3086 valid questionnaires were received, the effective rate was 99.97%.1. The situation of grasping the health literacy content was extremely imbalanced:in the 71 health literacy questions of this study, there were ten questions which the number of correctly answered were less than 20% of the total number in this study, specific as:"the awareness about the diseases which were spreaded by four pests"(0.00%), "the correct understanding of sedative analgesics" (2.69%), "the correct understanding of overweight and obesity"(4.99%), "the amount of milk consumed by adults every day"(12.90%), "the amount of liquor consumed by adults every day"(14.42%), "using the compression dressing method when somebody have a great trauma "(15.59%), "understanding the Drug Manual" (16.01%), "the right treatment for the fractured patients"(16.07%), "the prenatal times for pregnant women"(18.44%), "the transmission of schistosomiasis"(14.58%); on the other hand, there were six questions which the number of correctly answered were higher than 90% of the total number, specific as:"one times health examination should be done every year"(93.32%), "the correct awareness of smoking cessation"(96.76%), "the placement of pesticides and other drugs"(96.24%), " the food out of the shelf life shouldn't be eaten " (93.26%), " wearing a helmet while riding the motorcycle "(98.54%)," rescuing the electric shock"(93.71%).2. The urban and rural residents'awareness rates of health literacy were different:the urban residents'average awareness rate of health literacy was 60.6%, while the rural residents'was 51.6%. In the three aspects of health literacy, the urban residents'average awareness rate of the basic knowledge and concepts literacy was 61.7%, the average awareness rate of the healthy lifestyles and behavior literacy was 59.1%, and the average awareness rate of thehealth skills literacy was 61.8%; while for the rural residents they were 52.0%,50.5% and 53.9% respectively. In the five health-related problems, the urban residents'average awareness rate of the scientific view literacy was 75.5%, the average awareness rate of the infectious diseases prevention literacy was 62.2%, the average awareness rate of the chronic disease prevention literacy was 43.7%, the average awareness rate of the safety and first aid literacy was 66.5% and the average awareness rate of the basic medicine literacy was 52.4%; while for the rural residents they were 55.7%,54.7%,39.3%,57.6% and 42.5%. The urban residents'average awareness rates of health literacy and every part literacy were higher than that of the rural residents'by the statistical test, and the difference was statistically significant (all have P<0.05).3.The subjects had a lower health literacy:the subjects'average having rate of health literacy was 2.4%; In the three aspects of health literacy, the subjects'average having rate of the basic knowledge and concepts literacy was 9.6%, the having rate of the healthy lifestyles and behavior literacy was 1.9%, and the having rate of the health skills literacy wasll.5%; In the five health-related problems, the subjects' average having rate of the scientific view literacy was 34.0%, the having rate of the infectious diseases prevention literacy was 8.6%, the having rate of the chronic disease prevention literacy was 1.6%, the having rate of the safety and first aid literacy was 11.5%, and the having rate of the basic medicine literacy was 3.4%. The having rates of all aspects'health literacy were lower than the results of the nationwide survey at the same period except the scientific concept of health literacy.4. The urban and rural residents' having rates of health literacy were different: the urban residents'having rate of health literacy was 3.9%, while the rural residents' was 0.8%. In the three aspects of health literacy, the urban residents'having rates of the basic knowledge and concepts literacy was 12.3%, while the rural residents'was 7.0%; he urban residents'having rates of the healthy lifestyles and behavior literacy was 3.2%, while the rural residents'was 0.7%; and he urban residents'having rates of health skills literacy were 14.7%, while the rural residents'was 8.3%.In the five health-related problems, the urban residents'having rates of the scientific view literacy was 41.5%, while the rural residents'was 26.5%, the urban residents'having rates of infectious diseases prevention literacy was 10.4%, while the rural residents' was 6.8%; the urban residents'having rates of the chronic disease prevention literacy was 1.7%, while the rural residents'was 1.4%; the urban residents'having rates of the safety and first aid literacy was 17.5%, while the rural residents'was 5.5%, and the urban residents'having rates of the basic medicine literacy were 4.8%, while the rural residents'was 2.0%. The urban residents'having rates of health literacy and every type literacy were higher than that of the rural residents'by the statistical test, and the difference was statistically significant (all have P<0.05).5. The main factors affecting the health literacy level of urban and rural residents were different:in this study the main factors affecting the urban residents' health literacy level were the education level and the average monthly income, apart from these, the age and the number of resident population could affect the rural residents'health literacy level.Conclusions1. The health literacy level of urban and rural residents in Henan Province was lower than the national average rate at the same time. 2. The urban residents' having rates of health literacy and every type literacy were higher than that of the rural residents'.3. In the three aspects of health literacy, the urban and rural residents' having rates of the healthy literacy of lifestyles and behaviors were all lowest, while the having rates of the health skills literacy were all highest.4. In the five health-related problems, the urban and rural residents'having rates of the chronic disease prevention literacy were all lowest, while the having rates of the scientific view literacy were all highest.5. The main factors which could affect the urban and rural residents' health literacy level were education level and the average monthly income, in addition, age and the family size also have a certain impact on the rural residents'health literacy level. |
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