Toçi Ervin, Burazeri Genc, Myftiu Sokol, Sørensen Kristine, Brand Helmut
Department of International Health, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania.
Department of International Health, School for Public Health and Primary Care (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2016 Mar;38(1):6-13. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdv006. Epub 2015 Jan 28.
Health literacy (HL) may be an important determinant of health, but this concept is largely under-researched in Albania, a transitional country in the Western Balkans which is currently undergoing major political and socioeconomic changes. We aimed to assess the sociodemographic distribution of HL in this transitional South Eastern European country aspiring to join the European Union.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban Tirana, the capital of Albania, during September 2012-February 2014 including a representative population-based sample of 1154 adult individuals aged ≥18 years (57% women; 89% response). HL was assessed using the full version (47 items) of the 'Health Literacy Survey-European Union Questionnaire'. Spearman's correlation coefficients were used to assess the linear associations between HL indexes with demographic and socioeconomic correlates of study participants.
Overall HL was significantly higher among younger, highly educated and better-off participants. Conversely, no significant differences were noticed regarding sex, employment status or marital status of respondents.
Sociodemographic correlates of HL among Albanian adults showed similar trends with those observed in other former communist countries of Europe. Current findings may help policymakers tailor accordingly future interventions and programs to improve health status of Albanian citizens.
健康素养（HL）可能是健康的一个重要决定因素，但在阿尔巴尼亚这个西巴尔干半岛的转型国家，这一概念在很大程度上仍未得到充分研究，该国目前正经历重大的政治和社会经济变革。我们旨在评估在这个渴望加入欧盟的东南欧转型国家中HL的社会人口分布情况。
于2012年9月至2014年2月在阿尔巴尼亚首都地拉那市进行了一项横断面研究，纳入了1154名年龄≥18岁的具有代表性的基于人群的成年个体样本（女性占57%；应答率为89%）。使用“欧盟健康素养调查问卷”的完整版（47项）来评估HL。采用Spearman相关系数来评估HL指数与研究参与者的人口统计学和社会经济相关因素之间的线性关联。
在较年轻、受教育程度高和经济状况较好的参与者中，总体HL显著更高。相反，在应答者的性别、就业状况或婚姻状况方面未发现显著差异。
阿尔巴尼亚成年人中HL的社会人口统计学相关因素与在欧洲其他前共产主义国家中观察到的趋势相似。目前的研究结果可能有助于政策制定者相应地调整未来的干预措施和项目，以改善阿尔巴尼亚公民的健康状况。
