Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Apr;8(2):e93-e101.
doi: 10.3928/24748307-20240520-01. Epub 2024 Jun 6.

Effects of Digital Health Literacy Program on Sufficient Health Behavior Among Thai Working-Age People With Risk Factors for Noncommunicable Diseases

Ungsinun Intarakamhang, Khwanying Sriprasertpap, Araya Chiangkhong, Niwat Srisawasdi, Supitcha Wongchan, Piya Boocha

Effects of Digital Health Literacy Program on Sufficient Health Behavior Among Thai Working-Age People With Risk Factors for Noncommunicable Diseases

Ungsinun Intarakamhang et al. Health Lit Res Pract. 2024 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for more than 75% of deaths in Thailand, which is higher than the global average of 71%.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Digital Health Literacy (DHL) and Sufficient Health Behavior (SHB) Program on Thai working-age adults age 20 to 65 years with risk factors for NCDs (i.e., overweight and lacking physical activity), and compare the health literacy (HL) and SHB of participants living in urban and semi-urban areas at posttest.

Methods: Using the lottery method, this one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design randomly selected 200 participants and assigned them to two equally sized groups. The data were gathered through surveys with an item discrimination power between .20 and .86 and a reliability of 0.94 and were statistically analyzed using t-test and F-test.

Key results: The DHL and SHB Program comprises six sessions over a 12-week period, and activities designed to enhance knowledge of NCDs, HL, health communication, and health behavior modification. It was conducted by health care workers from urban and semi-urban public hospitals via Zoom using various digital toolkits such as YouTube, animations, infographics, role-play videos, clips, and e-books. At the posttest, the participants had higher HL (t = 2.67, p = .001) and SHB (t = 3.36, p = .001). There was a difference in SHB scores (F = 4.640, p = .032) between those living in urban and those in semi-urban areas, but no difference in HL scores (F = 1.436, p = .232).

Conclusions: The DHL and SHB Program improved HL and SHB in Thai working-age adults with risk factors for NCDs in both urban and semi-urban communities. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2024;8(2):e93-e101.].

Plain language summary

This study describes the implementation of a Digital Health Literacy and Sufficient Health Behavior Program via Zoom by health care workers in urban and semi-urban hospitals to effectively improve health literacy and sufficient health behavior among Thai working-age populations with risk factors for noncommunicable diseases. The Program was preliminarily shown to be extendable to other health care settings covered by the Internet.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Research framework.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Andersson , G. ( 2018. ). Internet interventions: Past, present and future . Internet Interventions : the Application of Information Technology in Mental and Behavioural Health , 12 , 181 – 188 . 10.1016/j.invent.2018.03.008 PMID: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arpanantikul , M. ( 2018. ). Sufficient health . Thai J Nurs Counc , 33 ( 2 ), 5 – 14 . https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/TJONC/article/view/118342
    1. Bandura , A . ( 1986. ). Social foundations of thought & action: A social cognitive theory . Prentice Hall; .
    1. Begoray , D. L. , & Kwan , B. ( 2012. ). A Canadian exploratory study to define a measure of health literacy . Health Promotion International , 27 ( 1 ), 23 – 32 . 10.1093/heapro/dar015 PMID: - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brega , A. G. , Ang , A. , Vega , W. , Jiang , L. , Beals , J. , Mitchell , C. M. , Moore , K. , Manson , S. M. , Acton , K. J. , Roubideaux , Y. , & the Special Diabetes Program for Indians Healthy Heart Demonstration Project . ( 2012. ). Mechanisms underlying the relationship between health literacy and glycemic control in American Indians and Alaska Natives . Patient Education and Counseling , 88 ( 1 ), 61 – 68 . 10.1016/j.pec.2012.03.008 PMID: - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources