Essam Noha, Khafagy Mohamad Azmy, Alemam Doaa Shokry
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, El-Gomhouria Street, El-Mansoura, PO, 35516, Egypt.
J Egypt Public Health Assoc. 2022 Dec 1;97(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s42506-022-00119-z.
Health literacy (HL) is an important maternal factor that is involved in the engagement of a mother and her children with health promotion and preventive activities. Studies have found poor HL in large proportions of the population of both developed and developing countries. This study measures the HL of pregnant women and explores its associated factors.
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 382 pregnant women attending antenatal care clinics in Mansoura district, Egypt, using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The Arabic version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire-short version (HLS-EU-Q16) was used to assess the HL of the participants.
The study showed that 79.8% of studied pregnant women had limited HL (34.5% insufficient HL and 45.3% problematic HL), and only 20.2% of them had sufficient HL. Limited HL was independently predicted by unsatisfactory income (OR = 6.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.2-15.3; P ≤ 0.05), lower than university education (OR = 5.3; 95% CI: 1.6-17.2; P ≤ 0.05), and having unplanned pregnancy (OR = 3.7; 95% CI: 1.6-8.5; P ≤ 0.05).
The majority of pregnant women in this study had limited HL. It was more frequent among women with lower levels of education, insufficient incomes, and unplanned pregnancies. Antenatal care programs should provide services that respond to the HL level and needs of pregnant women.
健康素养（HL）是一个重要的孕产妇因素，它涉及母亲及其子女参与健康促进和预防活动。研究发现，在发达国家和发展中国家的大部分人口中，健康素养水平都很低。本研究测量了孕妇的健康素养，并探讨了其相关因素。
采用访谈式问卷，对埃及曼苏拉地区产前保健诊所的382名孕妇进行了横断面研究。使用欧洲健康素养调查问卷简版（HLS-EU-Q16）的阿拉伯语版本来评估参与者的健康素养。
研究表明，79.8%的受试孕妇健康素养有限（34.5%健康素养不足，45.3%存在问题），只有20.2%的孕妇健康素养充足。收入不令人满意（OR = 6.9；95%置信区间[CI]：3.2 - 15.3；P≤0.05）、低于大学学历（OR = 5.3；95% CI：1.6 - 17.2；P≤0.05）以及意外怀孕（OR = 3.7；95% CI：1.6 - 8.5；P≤0.05）是健康素养有限的独立预测因素。
本研究中的大多数孕妇健康素养有限。在教育水平较低、收入不足和意外怀孕的女性中更为常见。产前保健项目应提供符合孕妇健康素养水平和需求的服务。
