Journal of Health Literacy
Volume:6 Issue: 4, Winter 2022

Considering the importance of intra-city commercial drivers to the developing nation's economy like Nigeria and the chain effects of health neglect among them on the general wellbeing of all, understanding their health literacy level and its associated factors becomes imperative. This study, therefore, aims to examine health literacy levels and their associated and predicting factors among intra-city commercial drivers in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State, South-West, Nigeria. This study is a descriptive type and a quantitative research method using a survey design was adopted. The participants of the study consist of commercial taxicabs drivers and tricycle riders in the city of Ibadan. Two hundred and three (203) commercial drivers participated in the study using a simple random sampling technique from twelve (12) purposively selected motor parks in Ibadan, Nigeria. A self-constructed questionnaire that focuses on two domains- demographic characteristics and health literacy was used as an instrument of data collection for the study. Data were collected within a six (6) week period (April 26-June 7, 2021). The collected data were analysed using simple percentages, mean and standard deviation, Univariate analysis and Logistic regression. In the study, the weighted average of the health literacy of intra-city commercial drivers is 3.43 and 55.2% of the respondents have adequate health literacy while 44.8% of them have inadequate health literacy. Sex (p≤0.003), marital status (p≤0.000), religion (p≤0.000), educational level (p≤0.000) and income (p=0.001) were found to be significantly associated with the health literacy status of the commercial drivers. This study highlights the need for stakeholders (government, health practitioners and providers, educators etc.) to make a concerted move through policy formulations, interventions, structured education, provision of information and effective communication to improve health literacy and general well-being of the commercial drivers.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common medical complication in pregnant women and is associated with serious consequences for both the fetus and the mother. The role of health literacy in examining adherence to UTI prevention behaviors during pregnancy has not been fully studied and relevant studies report controversial results. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of health literacy with preventive behaviors of urinary tract infection in pregnant women. This cross-sectional was conducted on 235 pregnant women in Mashhad, Iran. A multi-stage sampling design was used to select eligible participants, and valid and reliable questionnaires including the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) and research made-preventive behaviors recommendations for urinary tract infection the disease was implemented to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 and Spearman correlation, regression, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal Wallis tests. Significance level was considered lower than 0.05.    The average health literacy in this survey was 56.10±16.23 and ranged from 30.24-89.45. In this study, 83.6% of pregnant women showed marginal or inadequate levels of health literacy. there is a statistically significant correlation (P=0.001, r=0.959) between health literacy and prevention behaviors. Health literacy significantly correlated (P=0.001) with all aspects of prevention behaviors toward urinary tract infection. Health literacy could be considered as a stronger predictor of preventive behavior toward urinary tract infection. Focusing on designing and implementing educational programs to promote the health literacy skills of pregnant mothers could be very beneficial to facilitate a healthy lifestyle in this.

Improving the health literacy in the different   populations regarding COVID-19 may be useful in the control of its prevalence. This study examined the psychometric properties of a newly developed disease-specific measure of health literacy related to COVID-19 to be used as a standard measure. Relevant literature was reviewed to identify an item pool, and an expert panel was convened to choose items that might be included in the scale. Content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) was determined and face validity was examined by calculating the impact score in a group of social media users. The factor structure of the initial scale was examined in 590 Iranian individuals participating in online social networks in September 2020. Internal consistency of the scale was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability of responses was measured by Pearson correlation coefficients.  A five-factor solution for the 51-items scale was obtained through exploratory factor analysis. The five main dimensions were understanding, communication, information seeking, analysis, and behavior. The dimensions explained 47% of the variance in scale scores. Participants whose scores fell in the high category (27%) were significantly different compared to those whose scores fell in the low category (27%) on all dimensions (p<0.001). The CVR values for all items were greater than 0.85 and all items also got CVI values higher than 0.79 based on nine-person expert panel.  The Cronbach’s alpha for the overall scale was 0.89, and it was ranged from 0.71 to 0.90. Test-retest reliability for the scale was high (r=0.89).      Health Literacy Scale for protect against COVID-19is a valid and reliable measure for Iranian population.  This measure should be translated, and administered, in other settings to replicate the results obtained here.

One of the fundamental points of primary health care (PHC) is the principle of social participation, which the program of health volunteers is one of its successful samples. Considering the significant role of health volunteers in promoting social health, the present study was conducted to determine the challenges of the national program of health volunteers in Iran as an example of a lower middle-income country. This qualitative study was carried out among public health authorities healthy volunteers at the national level. For this purpose, 42 interviews were performed in a semi-structured manner with healthy volunteers nationwide. In order to data analysis, MAXQDA 10 software was used. Based on the results of the content analysis test, 349 primary codes were revealed. By considering the integration and overlapping of the codes, 4 main challenges (Coordination, Participation, Structure, and Motivation), as well as fourteen sub-themes, were obtained. According to the results of the research, interaction and participation were important principles of development and the participation of other sectors should get along with the participation of the people. Also, the biggest issue in the program of health volunteers can be associated with its credibility.

Poor health literacy can increase the risk of chronic disease, especially in vulnerable groups such as pregnant women. Meanwhile, the self-care component can be affected by the level of health literacy. Despite the importance of this issue, accurate information on health literacy in Afghan pregnant mothers living in Iran, and its relationship with their self-care is not available. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between health literacy and self-care in Afghan pregnant mothers with chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases).  This descriptive correlational study was performed with the participation of 242 Afghan pregnant mothers referring to the health centers and maternity hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2021. Mothers were selected by cluster and stratified methods. The study tools included the questionnaires of pregnant mothers' health literacy, gestational diabetes self-care behavior, hypertensive self-care, and heart disease self-care. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25 statistical software and descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation test.  The findings showed that there is no significant direct linear relationship between health literacy and self-care of Afghan pregnant women with diabetes (p= 0.001; r = 0.74), and hypertension self-care (p= 0.09; r =0.434), while health literacy has a significant inverse relationship with cardiovascular diseases self-care (p= 0.003; r = -0.37).  The findings of this study showed the significant relationship between Afghan pregnant mothers’ health literacy and their self-care ability, so it is necessary to pay attention to the increasing awareness of this growing population, which are mainly marginalized in metropolitan areas and are at risk of no awareness

Maternal health literacy is a cognitive and social skill that demonstrates women's motivation and ability to properly access, understand, and use the information to maintain the health of themselves and their children. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health literacy and pregnancy consequences in women referring to comprehensive health service centers in Dezful. This cross-sectional study (descriptive-analytical) was performed in 2020 on 220 pregnant women referring to comprehensive health service centers in Dezful for routine pregnancy care. Subjects were selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling. Data collection tools were Maternal Health Literacy and Pregnancy Consequences Questionnaire (MHLAPQ). Data analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software (version 16). There was a positive and significant relationship between the average score of health literacy and the mean score of pregnancy consequences including the higher level of health literacy, the lower level of the pregnancy consequences (P <0.0001, r = 0.695), and there was a positive and significant relationship between the mean average of health literacy and the average score of birth weight (<0.002). The results obtained in the study demonstrated that there was a significant relationship between maternal health literacy and prenatal care, pregnancy consequences, and birth weight, which indicates the need to pay more attention to education and increase maternal health literacy in health promotion programs.

Considering the importance of intra-city commercial drivers to the developing nation's economy like Nigeria and the chain effects of health neglect among them on the general wellbeing of all, understanding their health literacy level and its associated factors becomes imperative. This study, therefore, aims to examine health literacy levels and their associated and predicting factors among intra-city commercial drivers in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State, South-West, Nigeria. This study is a descriptive type and a quantitative research method using a survey design was adopted. The participants of the study consist of commercial taxicabs drivers and tricycle riders in the city of Ibadan. Two hundred and three (203) commercial drivers participated in the study using a simple random sampling technique from twelve (12) purposively selected motor parks in Ibadan, Nigeria. A self-constructed questionnaire that focuses on two domains- demographic characteristics and health literacy was used as an instrument of data collection for the study. Data were collected within a six (6) week period (April 26-June 7, 2021). The collected data were analysed using simple percentages, mean and standard deviation, Univariate analysis and Logistic regression. In the study, the weighted average of the health literacy of intra-city commercial drivers is 3.43 and 55.2% of the respondents have adequate health literacy while 44.8% of them have inadequate health literacy. Sex (p≤0.003), marital status (p≤0.000), religion (p≤0.000), educational level (p≤0.000) and income (p=0.001) were found to be significantly associated with the health literacy status of the commercial drivers. This study highlights the need for stakeholders (government, health practitioners and providers, educators etc.) to make a concerted move through policy formulations, interventions, structured education, provision of information and effective communication to improve health literacy and general well-being of the commercial drivers.

E-health literacy is a set of skills that evaluates health information in electronic information resources. Due to the importance of COVID-19 prevention, the present systematic review investigated the role of e-health literacy in preventive behaviors for COVID-19.

A systematic review was performed following the principles of PRISMA. The main databases including the Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases were searched on August 2, 2021, without restrictions in publication time. The selected keywords were combined via Boolean operators including “Computer Literacy, » «Telehealth literacy, » «Mobile health literacy, » «Electronic health literacy, » «E-Health literacy,» «E-health literacy,» «Health technology literacy,» «Digital health literacy,» «Health Information literacy,» «Digital literacy,» «Technology literacy,» «Internet literacy,» «Online health literacy,» «Online health information literacy» and the words related to the COVID-19. Inclusion criteria consisted of original articles, which evaluated the effect of e-health literacy on the preventive behavior toward COVID-19.

Among 694 retrieved articles, eight papers were eventually included in this study, four studies examined the effect of e-health literacy on the acceptance of health behaviors and general behaviors. Moreover, one study reviewed the role of e-health literacy in enhancing preventive behaviors and preventing related infections. Another study investigated the effect of socioeconomic status on e-health literacy and adherence to prevention guidelines. Another research developed and implemented digital health literacy to promote mother, child, and family health regarding disease prevention. Moreover, health behaviors related to COVID-19, health literacy, and e-health literacy were investigated in another study.

Enhancing the levels of e-health literacy is one of the recognized methods to increase the observance and adherence to the guidelines which was designated to control and prevention of the COVID-19 disease. Accordingly, relevant organizations and institutions, including the Ministry of Health, universities, and medical centers, need to design and develop appropriate training programs in this context.