Aysit Esmehan, Ikiisik Hatice, Cakir Mustafa, Maral Isil
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Istanbul 34700, Turkey.
Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Aug 22;11(9):1394. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11091394.
Health literacy is an important determinant of health care use among refugees and migrant communities. This present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between health literacy levels, sociodemographic characteristics, and the status of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in Syrians under "Temporary Protection" in Istanbul. This study was conducted in February, March, and May 2022 in an Extended Migrant Health Center in Istanbul, with a survey prepared in Arabic under observation. A total of 571 questionnaires were analyzed. The mean age of the participants was 31.92 ± 6.14, and 80.7% were female and 26.6% were high school graduates. A total of 55.0% of Syrians have not had any of the COVID-19 vaccines. The health literacy level of 1.1% of the immigrants was determined as "excellent", 68.7% as "inadequate", 20.7% as "problematic/limited", and 9.6% as "adequate". According to the logistic regression model, being male, of elder age, middle and above economic status, and having a chronic disease in the family were determined as the variables associated with the status of being vaccinated against COVID-19. Refugees are a group often exposed to inequalities in access to health services. Increasing health literacy in these groups will provide a significant improvement in access to and use of health services.
健康素养是难民和移民社区医疗保健利用的一个重要决定因素。本研究旨在评估伊斯坦布尔处于“临时保护”状态下的叙利亚人的健康素养水平、社会人口特征与接种新冠疫苗状况之间的关系。本研究于2022年2月、3月和5月在伊斯坦布尔的一家扩展移民健康中心进行，在观察下用阿拉伯语编写了一份调查问卷。共分析了571份问卷。参与者的平均年龄为31.92±6.14岁，80.7%为女性，26.6%为高中毕业生。共有55.0%的叙利亚人尚未接种任何新冠疫苗。1.1%的移民健康素养水平被判定为“优秀”，68.7%为“不足”，20.7%为“有问题/有限”，9.6%为“足够”。根据逻辑回归模型，男性、年龄较大、经济状况中等及以上以及家中有慢性病被确定为与接种新冠疫苗状况相关的变量。难民是一个经常在获得卫生服务方面面临不平等的群体。提高这些群体的健康素养将显著改善他们获得和利用卫生服务的情况。
