Health literacy of Ningbo citizens in 2010

Objective To explore the status of the basic knowledge grasp and concept formation of health literacy among citizens in Ningbo City,and to provide scientific basis for developing strategies of health literacy.Methods Multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to choose two residents' committees and two villages in Ningbo City from which 100 households were randomly selected,from which 880 residents aging from 15 to 69 were selected for a survey.Results We made a survey of 440 urban residents and 440 rural residents and the general population ratio of having health literacy was 31.34%.The proportions of residents who had basic knowledge and ideas,healthy lifestyle and behavior,basic literacy skills were 43.48%,16.63% and 52.91% respectively.The level of health literacy in urban areas was higher(40.43%) than that in rural areas(22.55%).The level of health literacy possessed by staff of medical treatment and sanitation(6038%) was higher than that possessed by non-medical health workers(29.52%).And the older the residents,the lower the health literacy level.The higher the educational level and family income,the higher the level of health literacy.ConclusionThe overall level of health literacy in Ningbo City residents is at a low level.Different groups of people have different levels of health literacy,whose mastery of content of health literacy is variable,herewith the propaganda and education for health literacy of Chinese citizens should be vigorously carried out to improve residents' health literacy level.