Yiğitalp Gülhan, Bayram Değer Vasfiye, Çifçi Sema
Department of Nursing, Diyarbakir Atatürk School of Health, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Turkey.
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Mardin Artuklu University, Mardin, Turkey.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jun 10;21(1):1109. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11119-7.
Low levels of health literacy are associated with increased hospitalization rates, problems regarding the proper intake of medications, poor general health and increased mortality rates. It is a well-known fact that health literacy differs among ethnic groups and ethnic minorities, in particular, are known to have a low level of health literacy. The present study aimed to reveal the levels of health literacy among different ethnic groups and the affecting factors as well as the relationship between health literacy and health perceptions.
This cross-sectional study was carried out with different ethnic groups (Kurdish, Arab, Turkish and Assyrian origin), between 18 and 65 years old in the province of Mardin in Turkey. The study was conducted with a total of 600 people. The European Health Literacy Scale-Turkish Adaptation (EHLS-TR) and Health Perception Scale (HPS) were used for measurement. Descriptive analysis, Mann Whitney U Test, Kruskal Wallis Test and Spearman correlation were used in the data analysis.
It was found that 80.7% of the participants had relatively low levels of health literacy. The lowest levels of health literacy were among those of Kurdish origin. There were correlations between sufficient levels of health literacy and several factors including being of Assyrian origin, being 50-65 years old, living in a nuclear family, being a secondary school graduate, having a high financial status, being retired, evaluating one's own health status as good, obtaining health information from healthcare professionals, preferring to visit a state hospital to seek medical assistance first, smoking and drinking alcohol. A positive correlation was also identified between the levels of health literacy and health perception.
It is essential to develop programs to increase health literacy for the public and, in particular, for the ethnic groups that are disadvantaged in many aspects in the context of health literacy.
健康素养水平较低与住院率上升、药物正确服用问题、总体健康状况不佳及死亡率增加相关。众所周知，不同种族群体的健康素养存在差异，尤其是少数民族的健康素养水平较低。本研究旨在揭示不同种族群体的健康素养水平、影响因素以及健康素养与健康认知之间的关系。
本横断面研究在土耳其马尔丁省对18至65岁的不同种族群体（库尔德族、阿拉伯族、土耳其族和亚述族）开展。共对600人进行了研究。使用欧洲健康素养量表 - 土耳其语改编版（EHLS - TR）和健康认知量表（HPS）进行测量。数据分析采用描述性分析、曼 - 惠特尼U检验、克鲁斯卡尔 - 沃利斯检验和斯皮尔曼相关性分析。
发现80.7%的参与者健康素养水平相对较低。健康素养水平最低的是库尔德族参与者。健康素养水平充足与几个因素之间存在相关性，这些因素包括亚述族血统、年龄在50 - 65岁、生活在核心家庭、中学毕业、经济状况良好、已退休、将自己的健康状况评估为良好、从医疗保健专业人员处获取健康信息、更倾向于首先前往公立医院寻求医疗帮助、吸烟和饮酒。健康素养水平与健康认知之间也存在正相关。
制定提高公众健康素养的项目至关重要，尤其是针对在健康素养方面在许多方面处于劣势的种族群体。
