Journal of Health Literacy
Volume:7 Issue: 4, Winter 2023

Mental health literacy and psychological distress levels in students of health sciences are essential because these students are candidates of future health professionals who are supposed to be equipped with robust psychological endurance. This study aims to determine mental health literacy levels among health sciences students and its relationship with psychological distress status, mental well-being condition, and their seeking psychological professional help.  Using a cross-sectional design, four interviewer-administered scales were applied to students of Health Sciences Faculty in Istanbul, Türkiye, with 2.791 students during the spring term of the 2021-22 academic year. Although all students of the faculty were invited to participate in the study, only 505 responded. Data were analysed using correlation and linear regression methods.  On a 22-point scale, the mean MHL Scale score was 14.53±3.31, with higher scores in females than in males (14.96 versus 12.82). MHL scores were positively affected by having friends with mental health problems and in attendees of higher grades and health-specific departments. MHL levels and psychological help-seeking attitudes of the participants were correlated with higher educational activities and health-related courses. A significant proportion of participants (36%) obtained information on mental health from social media/internet sources. Increased psychological distress negatively affected the student’s academic achievement.  The mental health literacy was positively and significantly affected by greater attitudes toward seeking psychological professional help, mental well-being, female gender, and availability of information for mental health.

Health literacy is a vital part of access and use of health interventions and well-being framework. However, there is a dearth of knowledge on health literacy levels of primary caregivers of children in Ghana. This study sought to investigate health literacy levels of mothers of children under the age of five years.  A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,234 mothers who had children aged <5 years in Ejisu-Juaben and Kwabre-East, two randomly selected districts, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana from January 1 to March 30, 2021. A consecutive sampling technique was used to select the mothers to participate in the study. Data was collected using the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20. Sample mean scores were presented in the form of a table. A paired-simple t-test was used to examine the significant levels of the differences in the mean health literacy scores of the mothers in the two districts. A multiple logistic regression analysis was then used to examine the relationships between the demographic variables of the respondents and health literacy.   On a nine-point health literacy scores, mothers scored above average on scale 1-5 (mean = 2.61, ranges 2.55-2.68), while scale 5-9 had mean = 3.39 (ranges 3.33-3.44). Scales 3 and 6, ‘Actively managing my health’ (mean = 2.68) and ‘Ability to actively engage with healthcare providers’ (mean = 3.44), had the highest scores while scales 1 and 7, ‘Feeling understood and supported by healthcare providers’ (mean = 2.55) and ‘Navigating the healthcare system’ (mean = 3.33), had the lowest scores.   None of the HLQ scale items had a score below average. In the multiple logistic regression analysis, three variables had significant association with the mothers’ health literacy: age, educational level and speaking English at home. There was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in the mean health literacy scores between the two studied districts. The mothers’ health literacy levels were above average. However, the results are not an indication of an outstanding performance. Thus, the country’s healthcare professionals and policy makers still need to do a lot to ensure that mothers in the country attain the level of health literacy they need to improve their health, as well as that of their children.

A massive amount of formal and informal information about Covid-19 has become a challenge during the pandemic. Therefore, health literacy (HL) development is more important than ever to prepare society for emergent conditions. This study aimed to determine the relationship between health literacy and Covid-19 preventive behaviors in Hormozgan, Iran. The present cross-sectional study was conducted on participants over 15 years of age who resided in Hormozgan Province, Iran. A total number of 1,292 valid answers were obtained from participants selected through a convenience sampling during December 2021-January 2022. The data were collected using reliable and valid questionnaires including: The Health Literacy Instrument for Iranian Adults (a common standard questionnaire in Iran) and the researcher-made Covid-19 preventive behaviors questionnaire. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were used for data analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics®, version 26.0.   The mean age of participants was 36.78 ± 10.44 years and their age ranged between 15 and70 years. Among all participants, 45.7% had a high HL and 94.3% reported to have good Covid-19 preventive behaviors. The results showed a significant relationship between behavior and health literacy with age, gender, marital status, education level and source of information. The multiple linear regression findings showed that health literacy was a predictor of the preventive behaviors (p-value <0.001). The present study showed that HL is a predictor of Covid-19 preventive behaviours. Also, HCWs were regarded as the most widely used sources of Covid-19 information. Monitoring is also recommended to improve the quality of online health-related information and increase the HL of content producers.

The Health Literacy Organization plays an important role in promoting community health. A health literacy organization is an organization that facilitates the guidance, understanding, and use of information and services for health care. The aim of this study was to validate the model of health literacy organization in health care centers in Iran. This study is a descriptive-analytic study that was conducted from February 2021 to May 2021. Amongst the health education and health promotion experts and health center staff from different cities in Iran, 30 people were purposefully selected. The proposed template of the Health Literacy Organization of the health care centers was sent to the participants via email or via cyberspace (depending on the choice of the specialist) and experts were asked to enter their comments into the template on a 5-point Likert scale. This study was performed in two rounds. The impact coefficient formula was used to analyze the pattern. Data analysis was performed using spss25 software.  There were 30 participants with 15.2 ± 7.7 years of experience, of which 53.3% were female participants and 46.6% were faculty members. In the first round of Delphi, the impact factor between 2.6 to 4.9 and the pattern was valid, but because the Delphi study is not feasible in less than two rounds, the second stage of Delphi was performed with an impact score between 3.5 to 4.9. This study provided a valid model for the Health Literacy Organization in health care centers in Iran to help improve the level of health literacy in Iranian society.

Caregivers' health literacy is an influential factor in the caregivers’ efficiency to meet the physiological and psychological needs of the elderly. The prolongation of the COVID-19 pandemic and the problems of the elderly can be a reason for fear of infection in their caregivers. This study aimed to investigate the fear of COVID-19 in caregivers and its relationship with their health literacy. This cross-sectional study was performed on 400 caregivers of the elderly, living in Tehran, Iran during the Summer of 2021. The tools consisted of health literacy, fear of COVID-19, awareness, attitude, and performance were collected through questionnaires. The data was gathered by using an online questionnaire. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS ver.23 with Pearson correlation and regression, and independent t-test. 23.  For each increased unit of the health literacy score, the fear of COVID-19 score decreased by 0.185 units (P =0.025). The mean score of health literacy was 75.89 ±14.51 in caregivers of the elderly. The mean score of fear of COVID-19 was 19.42 ±5.02 in caregivers of the elderly. For each increased unit of the health literacy score, the awareness score increases by 0.311 units, the attitude score increases by 0.638 units, and the performance score also increase by 0.214 units.  As health literacy increases, the fear of COVID-19 decreases. In addition, most health caregivers have adequate levels of health literacy. It is suggested to set educational policies to increase the health literacy of the caregivers whose health literacy level is not desirable.

Studies investigated the relationship between Health Literacy (HL) and quality of life, medication adherence, and frequency of hospitalization. However, few studies are available on the effects of patient education strategies on the HL of patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD). We investigated the effect of a multimodal educational intervention on HL in patients with IHD.  This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 50 patients with IHD referred to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan, Iran, from February to September 2020. Patients were consecutively selected and randomly divided into two groups that either received a multimodal HL intervention or were treated as usual. The multimodal HL intervention included an educational booklet, two individual face-to-face training sessions, and enrolling in one of the groups created in WhatsApp and Telegram messengers. Patients were assessed at baseline and at the end of the eighth week using the HL questionnaire for patients with cardiac diseases. Data were analyzed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, independent-samples t, paired-samples t, Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, and analysis of covariance. The mean HL scores of the intervention and control groups did not differ significantly at baseline. At the end of the study, the mean HL score in the intervention group increased by 98.12 points to reach 169.04±8.36, whereas in the control group it increased by only 10.32 points to reach 84.12±12.21. The mean scores of the two groups were significantly different at the end of the study (P< 0.001). After the intervention, the mean HL score in the intervention group increased 2.4 times, whereas the mean score of the control group changed slightly. Nurses and physicians are recommended to use additional modalities, such as digital social networks, in addition to in-person education to strengthen their interactions with their IHD patients and improve patient HL.

Health literacy requires the knowledge, motivation, and competence to access understand, evaluate and apply health information to make judgments and decisions in daily life and to be prepared for the change to maintain or improve quality of life throughout life. This study aimed to investigate the health literacy level in the Iranian adult population (18-64 years old) and its relationship with behavior readiness. In this cross-sectional study, 898 people were live in Southwest of Iran participated in the study in February 2022. The random sampling method was simple. According to the number assigned to each client covered by the health center the online link of the questionnaire was sent to their mobile phone through SMS and WhatsApp. Data were analyzed by SPSS25. Only 30.3% of the subjects had excellent health literacy and 46.5% had adequate health literacy. The mean score of readiness for behavior change was 92.68 ± 13.31. Health literacy had a positive and significant correlation with readiness for change (r = 0.405, P <0.001). In general health literacy alone predicted 16.8% variance of behavior change readiness (R square = 0.168, adjusted R = 0.167, P <0.001).  In general health literacy in adults is insufficient. However, promoting health literacy may facilitate readiness to change health behaviors.

University students’ quality of life (QoL) impacts on their quality of learning, academic achievement and knowledge. An increased risk of deterioration in QoL was happened during the COVID-19 pandemic for university students. The focus of this study is on the impact of university students’ electronic health literacy on their QoL and its determinants during the Covid-19 pandemic. This cross- sectional study was conducted by two valid and reliable questionnaires on 260 health students at Semnan University of Medical Sciences in Iran in 2021. E-Health Literacy Scale and World Health Organization QoL questionnaire were used. The link of the online questionnaire was sent to the students. A reminder message was sent to the users, if the online questionnaire was not completed and answered within a specified time. Multiple logistic model regression analysis was used.  About 84.2% of students had sufficient e-Health literacy and 76.4% had a good QoL. The students’ e-Health literacy had a significant relationship with English language skills (P = 0.30, OR = 1.929), Internet skills (P = 0.008, OR = 1.740), start searching for health information on the Internet (P <0.001, OR = 4.840) and information search method in Internet (P = 0.007, OR = 1.650). There was a significant relationship between students' e-Health literacy and their QoL (P <0.001, OR = 3.466). Present study shows indicators that encourage university students to involve in electronic health tools and to improve their QoL during the COVID-19 pandemic. These indicators are worth and should be considered when developing medical education, self-management programs and formulating interventions.