Health literacy and its associated factors among the population in two schistosomiasis-endemic villages in Jiangxi Province, China

Abstract

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the levels of health literacy and the associated factors among the general population living in 2 schistosomiasis-endemic villages in Jiangxi Province, China. Multistage stratified random sampling was used to select participants, and a face-to-face survey was conducted from July to August 2021 to collect participants' socio-demographic characteristics and levels of overall health literacy (HL) and its 3 subscales: health literacy of basic knowledge and concepts (HL-BKC), health literacy of behavior and lifestyle (HL-BAL), and health literacy of health-related skills (HL-HRS). The Chi-square test and logistic regression models were used to assess the association between socio-demographic characteristics and low HL levels. The prevalence rates of low overall HL, HL-BKC, HL-BAL, and HL-HRS were 84.3%, 61.8%, 82.6%, and 86%, respectively. In addition, no significant differences (P > .05) were noted between the 2 villages regarding overall HL scores and the 3 subscales of health literacy scores. Older age (P < .001), occupation (P < .001), lower educational level (P < .001), and lower annual household income (P < .05) were associated with an increased risk of low HL. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that occupation as a student (OR = 32.289, 95% CI:1.965-530.462, P < .05) and fishermen (OR = 27.902, 95%CI:1.91-407.642, P < .05), lower education level (OR = 0.384, 95%CI:0.149-0.99, P < .05), older age (OR = 5.228, 95%CI:1.458-18.75, P < .001), and lower annual household income (OR = 0.452, 95%CI:0.24-0.851, P < .05) were independently associated with low HL. The prevalence of low HL is high among the population in the schistosomiasis-endemic villages of Jiangxi Province, China. Age, education level, occupation, and annual household income were all independent factors associated with HL levels. Health educational interventions to improve HL should be simultaneously conducted in health promotion work to reduce risky habits.

Figure 1.

The total number of participants was selected from the 2 schistosomiasis-endemic villages. One village from countries met transmission-controlled criteria, and the another from countries met transmission-interrupted criteria. The arrows represent that the selection process is carried out in order from large to small administrative divisions (county, town, village).

Figure 2.

In general, the score distribution is that the middle score segment has the largest number of people, and the low and high score segments have fewer people. The distribution conforms to the normal distribution curve.

Figure 3.

The prevalence of low overall health literacy among the participants is 81.1%. The prevalence of low health literacy regarding of overall, basic knowledge and concepts and behavior and lifestyle among participants in Sishui is higher than Lantian, expect for health-related skills.