Caridi Talia L, Mariño-Polo Fernanda, Farra Cora G, Mingus Alison M, Memon Athar, Grijalva Mario J, Bates Benjamin R
Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, 6775 Bobcat Way Dublin, Ohio 43016, Dublin, OH, USA.
Facultad de Medicina, Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Avenida 12 de Octubre 1076, Quito 170143, Ecuador.
PEC Innov. 2024 May 6;4:100287. doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2024.100287. eCollection 2024 Dec.
Health literacy is associated with many patient outcomes. This study sought to determine the association between a person's level of health literacy and their knowledge about Chagas disease.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with people living in two counties in rural Loja Province, Ecuador who attended a mobile health clinic. The communities in which the study was conducted are at high risk of Chagas disease and have limited access to both health care and educational resources. The Spanish version of Short Assessment for Health Literacy measured health literacy. The Chagas Disease Knowledge questionnaire measured knowledge of Chagas disease. T-tests and correlational analysis were used to assess associations.
Overall 85 people participated in this study. A majority of the respondents were female (64.1%), and a plurality were married (40.7%) and had education less than secondary (40.7%). The average age of the sample was 44.31 ± 18.85. Health literacy levels and Chagas disease knowledge in the communities were low. About half of people had inadequate health literacy. No association between health literacy and Chagas knowledge was found.
Health literacy levels and Chagas disease knowledge were not found to be correlated. Explanations for the lack of association may include common causes of inadequate investment in Chagas disease education as well as neglect of health systems in rural Ecuador. Efforts to improve both health literacy and Chagas disease knowledge in poorer, rural areas of Ecuador are needed.
This is the first study to assess relationships between health literacy and knowledge of Chagas disease in an uninfected population. For novel conditions, relationships between health literacy and disease knowledge should be investigated before communication campaigns are adapted.
健康素养与许多患者预后相关。本研究旨在确定一个人的健康素养水平与其对恰加斯病的了解之间的关联。
对厄瓜多尔洛哈省农村地区两个县的居民进行了一项横断面调查，这些居民前往了一个流动医疗诊所。开展研究的社区恰加斯病风险高，且获得医疗保健和教育资源的机会有限。采用西班牙语版的健康素养简短评估来衡量健康素养。采用恰加斯病知识问卷来衡量对恰加斯病的了解。使用t检验和相关分析来评估关联。
共有85人参与了本研究。大多数受访者为女性（64.1%），多数已婚（40.7%）且受教育程度低于中学（40.7%）。样本的平均年龄为44.31±18.85。社区的健康素养水平和恰加斯病知识水平较低。约一半的人健康素养不足。未发现健康素养与恰加斯病知识之间存在关联。
未发现健康素养水平与恰加斯病知识之间存在相关性。缺乏关联的解释可能包括恰加斯病教育投入不足的常见原因以及厄瓜多尔农村地区卫生系统被忽视。需要在厄瓜多尔较贫困的农村地区努力提高健康素养和恰加斯病知识。
这是第一项评估未感染人群中健康素养与恰加斯病知识之间关系的研究。对于新出现的疾病，在调整宣传活动之前应先调查健康素养与疾病知识之间的关系。
