Analysis of health literacy of residents in urban district of Huaian in 2013, Jiangsu Province

Objective To understand the residents health literacy and its 3 dimensions of literacy level distribution between the age of 15 and 69 years in Huaian city and explore its influential factors to provide evidence for health education strategies and measures through the investigation on health literacy in 2013, Methods Residents aged 15-69 years were surveyed in Qinghe, Qingpu, Huaian, Huaiyin counties by using a cross-sectional survey method and stratified multi-stage cluster random sampling from October to December, 2013. This research included demographic data, such as age, gender, occupation and 3 dimensions of health literacy namely (basic knowledge and concepts, health lifestyle and behavior, and basic skills). The influencing factors of health literacy level were analyzed with chi-square test and logistic regression. Results Of the 2 316 15 to 69 years old residents, 401 people had health literacy, their health literacy level was 17.3%. Basic knowledge and ideas, healthy lifestyle and behavior, basic skills literacy levels were 28.4%, 11.6% and 19.4%. The single factor analysis showed that the health literacy of residents in urban areas and the level of 3 dimensions of the degree of education increased with the degree of education And were higher in those with family per capita income (yuan) > 10 000 than in those with less than or equal to 10 000, groups of different age, different occupational groups had significant difference (P< 0.05). Moreover, the level of basic skills of the male was higher than the female (P< 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, effects of education on health literacy OR(95% CI) value is 1.473 (1.337-1.623), on the basic knowledge and literacy concept influence OR(95% CI) value was 1.399 (1.289-1.520), to the effect of a healthy lifestyle and behavior literacy OR(95% CI) values were 1.556 (1.386-1.746), on the basic skills of literacy effects OR(95% CI) values are 1.400(1.275-1.538) .With respect to the farmers, the influence of enterprise workers, white-collar workers on health literacy OR (95% CI) values were 1.559 (1.095-2.219) and 2.333 (1.468-3.706), on the basic knowledge and literacy concept influence OR (95% CI) values were 1.390 (1.063-1.819) and 1.778 (1.204-2.625), on the basic skills of literacy effects OR (95% CI) values were 1.721(1.235-2.397) and 2.151(1.375-3.365), with respect to the farmers, the mental workers on the impact of a healthy lifestyle and behavior literacy OR(95% CI) value was 1.876 (1.093-3.220). These are all positively correlated factors of health literacy. Conclusion The health literacy level of residents aged from 15 to 69 years in Huaian was 17.3%, and the level is low. The health literacy intervention and monitoring should be strengthened, effective policies and measures should be formulated to promote the health literacy level of counties. Key words: Health literacy; Cross-sectional studies; Huaian