A Comprehensive Evaluation Of Health Literacy Among College Students In Lanzhou

Objective To explore the application of comprehensive evaluation methods on the estimation of health literacy level,to know about the current status of health literacy among college students in Lanzhou.To explore the influencing factors of the health literacy level under the different distribution and to provide reference for the health education and health promotion work for the universities and related departments and the intervention of key populations.Methods Using the cluster sampling method,1705 college students and 291 secondary school students from 7 colleges and universities in Lanzhou City were selected to do the anonymous survey.To evaluate the health literacy level of college students,the state-published evaluation method of health literacy level and the principal component analysis method were applied to construct comprehensive function.Descriptive research methods are used to statistically describe the current status of health literacy among college students,and the quantile regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of health literacy among college students.Results 1.According to the evaluation method,which is accredited by the country,the average score of health literacy among college students in Lanzhou was 66.56,with a rate of16.36%.The literacy rates of basic knowledge and concept quality,healthy lifestyle and behavioral literacy,and health skill literacy are 33.55%,18.65%,and 15.54%respectively.The rate of six types in health problems litrracy,which are scientific development concept literacy,infectious disease control literacy,chronic disease prevention and control literacy,safety and emergency literacy,basic medical literacy,and health information literacy,are 47.04%,26.63%,23.64%,66.33%,10.26%,and 33.08%respectively.2.The results of the comprehensive evaluation of the principal components showed that the average composite score of health literacy was 0.221（-0.128 to 0.457）.The health literacy in females was higher than that in males,which was statistically significant difference（Z=-3.545,P<0.001）.Differences among different grades,majors,and universities were also significant（H=188.746,P<0.001;H=358.727,P<0.001;H=515.187,P<0.001）.3.Among the three aspects of health literacy,the average comprehensive score of basic knowledge and concept literacy was 0.161（-0.145 to 0.352）,the comprehensive score of healthy lifestyle and behavioral literacy was 0.006（-0.377 to 0.388）and the comprehensive score of health skill literacy was 0.105（-0.222 to 0.379）,which are statistical differences in health literacy among different genders,grades,majors,and universities.4.For the six types of health problem literacy,the average composite score of the scientific concept of health literacy was 0.117（-0.195 to 0.298）,the average composite score of infectious disease prevention literacy was 0.032（-0.265 to 0.325）,and the average composite score of chronic disease prevention literacy was 0.090（-0.210 to 0.335）,the average composite score of safety and emergency literacy was 0.192（-0.128 to 0.435）,the average composite score of basic medical literacy was 0.060（-0.128 to 0.447）and the average composite score of health information literacy was 0.144（-0.434 to 0.507）.There are significant differences in the six types of health problems among different grades,different majors,and different universities.5.The main influencing factors of health literacy on scores among college students are major,grade and different students.With the increasing scores of health literacy,the differences of influencing factors are gradually diminishing and the gender has statistical significant on the P₁₀^P₅₀0 points of health literacy score,which means that the gender have main influence on the level of health literacy in the populations with middle-lower level scores.Also,health literacy in females is higher than that in males.However,as the level of health literacy increases,the difference between males and females is gradually reducing.Conclusion 1.The overall level of health literacy among students in Lanzhou City is comparatively low.Among all students,the level of health literacy of lower grade students,males,non-medical students and rural students is low.2.Among the three aspects of health literacy,healthy basic knowledge and concept literacy are well mastered,but healthy lifestyles and health skills are poorly mastered and the mastery of knowledge,behavior and skill literacy appears to be inconsistent.There are also differences in the main six types of public health problems and the health literacy has the lowest levels in infectious disease prevention and control,chronic disease prevention and control and basic medical literacy.3.The main influencing factors of the level of health literacy among college students in Lanzhou are gender,grade,specialty and place of origin which mainly affect the populations with low-score literacy.