Alqudah Muahammad, Cowin Leanne, George Ajesh, Johnson Maree
School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Newcastlee, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Nurs Health Sci. 2019 Jun;21(2):157-163. doi: 10.1111/nhs.12574. Epub 2018 Oct 16.
Health literacy, or the ability to read and understand health information, is critical to the health of children. In this study, we compared the fever management knowledge of parents attending the emergency department with a child with fever. A cross-sectional survey of 33 parents/carers with limited health literacy and 122 with functional health literacy was undertaken. There were no differences in the overall proportion of correct responses to knowledge or management questions posed by the two scales between the two groups. Both groups presented with limited knowledge and poor practices (<60% correct in both scales) in relation to fever knowledge and management in their children. Although health literacy impacts health utilization, we did not find any differences in these groups. Inappropriate practices, such as when to give medications, were evident. Educational programs, responsive to health literacy, are urgently needed to address these information needs for parents. An assessment of parents' health literacy level can guide the selection of information that can be easily read, understood, and acted upon to deliver the best health outcomes for children.
健康素养，即阅读和理解健康信息的能力，对儿童的健康至关重要。在本研究中，我们比较了带发热儿童前往急诊科就诊的家长的发热管理知识。对33名健康素养有限的家长/照顾者和122名具备功能性健康素养的家长/照顾者进行了横断面调查。两组对两个量表所提出的知识或管理问题的正确回答总体比例没有差异。两组在儿童发热知识和管理方面的知识都有限且做法不佳（两个量表的正确率均<60%）。尽管健康素养会影响医疗服务利用情况，但我们在这些组中未发现任何差异。存在一些不当做法，比如何时给药。迫切需要针对健康素养的教育项目来满足家长的这些信息需求。对家长健康素养水平的评估可以指导选择易于阅读、理解并能据此采取行动的信息，从而为儿童带来最佳健康结果。
