Understanding Health Literacy among University Health Science Students of Different Nationalities
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- What is the level of subjective and functional health literacy for undergraduate students in the faculty of health sciences?
- Are there any differences between Hungarian and foreign students’ health literacy level?
- Is it possible to identify any relationship among the measuring instruments?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sample
2.2. Data Survey
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Characteristics of the Sample (Sociodemographic, Educational, Health Status, and Health Behavior)
3.2. The Analysis of Health Literacy
3.2.1. The Results of the HLS-EU-Q16 Questionnaire
3.2.2. Results of the NVS Questionnaire
3.2.3. Results of the Chew Questions
3.2.4. Analyzing the Relationships between the Results of the Different Questionnaires
3.2.5. Comparing the Results of the Questionnaires with the Questions Investigating Self-Assessed Health Literacy
4. Discussion
5. Limitations
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
AI | apply information |
BMI | Body Mass Index |
DP | Disease Prevention |
HC | Health Care |
HL | Health Literacy |
HLS-EU-Q16 | European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire 16 item |
HP | Health promotion |
NVS | Newest Vital Signe |
OI | obtain information |
PI | process information |
UI | understand information |
WHO | World Health Organization |
q1 | first question |
q2 | second question |
q3 | third question |
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Characteristic | National | International | Total | p Value 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sociodemographic data | ||||
Gender | <0.001 | |||
male | 24 | 13 | 37 (13.87%) | |
female | 206 | 19 | 230 (86.13%) | |
Age | 21.97 ± 4.83 | 21.36 ± 2.8 | 21.88 ± 4.6 | 0.628 |
Economic status (subjective) | 0.005 | |||
very bad | 2 | 2 | 4 (1.5%) | |
bad | 21 | 10 | 31 (11.6%) | |
average | 135 | 23 | 158 (59.2%) | |
good | 67 | 2 | 69 (25.8%) | |
very good | 5 | 0 | 5 (1.9%) | |
Settlement | 0.001 | |||
town | 117 | 17 | 134 (50.2%) | |
village | 65 | 3 | 68 (25.5%) | |
county town | 48 | 17 | 65 (24.3%) | |
Regular job (mother) | <0.001 | |||
yes | 203 | 21 | 224 (83.9%) | |
no | 27 | 16 | 43 (16.1%) | |
Regular job (father) | 24 | 0.004 | ||
yes | 194 | 13 | 218 (81.6%) | |
no | 36 | 49 (18.4%) | ||
Educational background | ||||
Grade | 0.843 | |||
1st | 95 | 13 | 108 (40.45%) | |
2nd | 64 | 13 | 77 (28.83%) | |
3rd | 40 | 6 | 46 (17.23%) | |
4th | 31 | 5 | 36 (13.49%) | |
Work schedule | 0.920 | |||
day | 214 | 34 | 248 (92.89%) | |
correspondents training | 16 | 3 | 19 (7.11%) | |
Postponement | <0.001 | |||
yes, because of my studies | 6 | 4 | 10 (3.75%) | |
yes, because of other things | 12 | 30 | 43 (16.1%) | |
no | 211 | 3 | 214 (80.15%) | |
Specialization | <0.001 | |||
paramedic | 26 | 0 | 26 (9.74%) | |
nurse | 16 | 10 | 26 (9.74%) | |
nutrition | 44 | 11 | 55 (20.59%) | |
physiotherapy | 110 | 13 | 123 (46.07%) | |
recreation | 6 | 0 | 6 (2.25%) | |
midwife | 3 | 3 | 6 (2.25%) | |
health visitor | 10 | 0 | 10 (3.74%) | |
diagnostic and analytics | 15 | 0 | 15 (5.62%) | |
Health condition, healthbehavior | ||||
GP in the town | 0.059 | |||
yes | 49 | 14 | 63 (23.59%) | |
no | 181 | 23 | 204 (76.41%) | |
Health condition (subjective) | 0.002 | |||
bad | 5 | 1 | 6 (2.25%) | |
average | 48 | 7 | 55 (20.6%) | |
good | 132 | 11 | 143 (53.56%) | |
very good | 45 | 18 | 63 (23.59%) | |
Heard about HL 2 | 0.778 | |||
yes | 166 | 27 | 194 (72.65%) | |
no | 64 | 9 | 73 (27.35%) | |
HL 2 level (subjective) | 0.957 | |||
inadequate | 3 | 1 | 4 (1.5%) | |
problematic | 20 | 2 | 22 (8.24%) | |
sufficient | 178 | 28 | 206 (77.16%) | |
excellent | 29 | 6 | 35 (13.1%) |
Level of HL 1 | Dimensions of HL 1 [n (%)] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Obtain Information | Understand Information | Process Information | Apply Information | |
Inadequate | 19 (7.1%) | 52 (19.5%) | 52 (19.5%) | 62 (23.2%) |
Problematic | 85 (31.8%) | 91 (34.1%) | 91 (34.1%) | 94 (35.2%) |
Sufficient | 104 (39%) | 78 (29.2%) | 77 (28.8%) | 62 (23.2%) |
Excellent | 59 (22.1%) | 46 (17.2%) | 47 (17.6%) | 49 (18.4%) |
Level of HL 1 | Subindexes of HL 1 [n (%)] | ||
---|---|---|---|
HC Subindex | DP Subindex | HP Subindex | |
Inadequate | 17 (6.4%) | 38 (14.2%) | 62 (23.2%) |
Problematic | 85 (31.8%) | 102 (38.2%) | 94 (35.2%) |
Sufficient | 115 (43.1%) | 73 (27.3%) | 62 (23.2%) |
Excellent | 50 18.7%) | 54 (20.2%) | 49 (18.4%) |
HL1 Level | National | International | Together | p-Value * |
---|---|---|---|---|
Limited (inadequate) | 6 | 4 | 10 (3.7%) | |
Possible to limited (limited) | 33 | 10 | 43 (16.1%) | |
Adequate | 191 | 23 | 214 (80.1%) | |
Sociodemographic data | ||||
Nationality | 0.005 | |||
Sex | 0.937 | |||
Age | 0.697 | |||
Economic status | 0.067 | |||
Education level | 0.424 | |||
Settlement | 0.737 | |||
Regular job (mother) | 0.154 | |||
Regular job (father) | 0.112 | |||
Study data | ||||
Grade | 0.353 | |||
Work schedule | 0.333 | |||
Postpone | <0.001 | |||
Specialty | 0.094 |
Question | National | International | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
How often do you have someone (like a family member, friend, hospital/clinic worker, or caregiver) help you read hospital materials? (Help Read) | 0.269 | ||
Never | 1 | 0 | |
Occasionally | 10 | 2 | |
Sometimes | 27 | 6 | |
Often | 122 | 14 | |
Always | 70 | 15 | |
How often do you have problems learning about your medical condition because of difficulty understanding written information? (Problems Reading) | 0.368 | ||
Never | 47 | 10 | |
Occasionally | 76 | 8 | |
Sometimes | 71 | 12 | |
Often | 29 | 6 | |
Always | 7 | 1 | |
How confident are you filling out forms by yourself? (Confident with Forms) | 0.528 | ||
Never | 46 | 10 | |
Occasionally | 107 | 11 | |
Sometimes | 57 | 12 | |
Often | 14 | 3 | |
Always | 6 | 1 |
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Bánfai-Csonka, H.; Bánfai, B.; Jeges, S.; Betlehem, J. Understanding Health Literacy among University Health Science Students of Different Nationalities. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 11758. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811758
Bánfai-Csonka H, Bánfai B, Jeges S, Betlehem J. Understanding Health Literacy among University Health Science Students of Different Nationalities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(18):11758. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811758
Chicago/Turabian StyleBánfai-Csonka, Henrietta, Bálint Bánfai, Sára Jeges, and József Betlehem. 2022. "Understanding Health Literacy among University Health Science Students of Different Nationalities" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 18: 11758. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811758
APA StyleBánfai-Csonka, H., Bánfai, B., Jeges, S., & Betlehem, J. (2022). Understanding Health Literacy among University Health Science Students of Different Nationalities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11758. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811758