Bakker Caitlin J, Koffel Jonathan B, Theis-Mahon Nicole R
J Med Libr Assoc. 2017 Jan;105(1):34-43. doi: 10.5195/jmla.2017.105.
Health literacy-the ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information-is a major determinant of an individual's overall health and health care utilization. In this project, the authors examined predictors of health literacy levels, including numeracy and graphic literacy, among an adult population in the Upper Midwest.
The research was conducted at the Minnesota State Fair. Three previously validated scales were used to assess health literacy: Newest Vital Sign, the General Health Numeracy Test, and questions from Galesic and Garcia-Retamero's Graph Literacy Scale. Demographic information-such as age, educational attainment, zip code, and other potential predictors and modifiers-was collected. Multivariate linear regression was conducted to examine the independent effects of educational attainment, race, ethnicity, gender, and rural or urban location on overall health literacy and scores on each of the individual instruments.
A total of 353 Upper Midwest residents completed the survey, with the majority being white, college-educated, and from an urban area. Having a graduate or professional degree or being under the age of 21 were associated with increased health literacy scores, while having a high school diploma or some high school education, being Asian American, or being American Indian/Alaska Native were associated with lower health literacy scores.
Advanced health literacy skills, including the ability to calculate and compare information, were problematic even in well-educated populations. Understanding numerical and graphical information was found to be particularly difficult, and more research is needed to understand these deficits and how best to address them.
健康素养——获取、处理和理解基本健康信息的能力——是个人整体健康和医疗保健利用的主要决定因素。在本项目中，作者研究了美国中西部上游成年人群体中健康素养水平的预测因素，包括算术能力和图形素养。
研究在明尼苏达州博览会上进行。使用三个先前经过验证的量表来评估健康素养：最新生命体征量表、一般健康算术测试量表，以及来自加莱西克和加西亚 - 雷塔梅罗图形素养量表的问题。收集了人口统计学信息，如年龄、教育程度、邮政编码以及其他潜在的预测因素和调节因素。进行多元线性回归以检验教育程度、种族、民族、性别以及城乡位置对整体健康素养和各单独量表得分的独立影响。
共有353名美国中西部上游地区居民完成了调查，其中大多数是白人、受过大学教育且来自城市地区。拥有研究生或专业学位或年龄在21岁以下与健康素养得分增加相关，而拥有高中文凭或接受过一些高中教育、是亚裔美国人或美洲印第安人/阿拉斯加原住民与较低的健康素养得分相关。
即使在受过良好教育的人群中，包括计算和比较信息能力在内的高级健康素养技能也存在问题。发现理解数字和图形信息特别困难，需要更多研究来了解这些不足以及如何最好地解决它们。
