BMC Public Health (Jun 2024)

Health literacy – study protocol for LiSa cohort study

  • Maria João Batalha,
  • Tiago Gabriel,
  • Ana Valentim,
  • Ana Soledade,
  • Cátia Gomes,
  • Bartolomeu Alves,
  • Estêvão Soares dos Santos,
  • Rui Passadouro,
  • Sara Simões Dias

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19148-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Abstract Background Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others, whether at home, at the workplace, in the community, marketplace, healthcare sector, or the political arena. The main aim of this project is to measure health literacy in the adult population living in the municipality of Leiria over the next 10 years. As secondary objectives it is intended to characterize anxiety and depression, metabolic risk and health behaviors in the same population and over the same period. Methods This is a prospective cohort study that collects data on HL, anxiety and depression, health characteristics, health behavior and sociodemographic data. The study population will be composed by adults (≥ 18 years old) who are non-institutionalized and living in private households in Leiria. The random sample is stratified by gender and age groups. A face-to-face interview will be conducted with the Computer Assisted Personal Interview at baseline. Follow-up will be carried out every 2 years via telephone call. The association between independent variables and health literacy is examined by means of variance analysis with measurement repetition, and taking into consideration follow-up. Discussion The LiSa project is a population-based study, derived from a random sampling technique that will allow the analysis of health outcomes in a representative sample of the population of the municipality of Leiria. The LiSa study will be a valuable resource for epidemiological research, as it will provide fundamental information to improve public health policies regarding health literacy in Portugal. Trial registration Clinical trials: NCT05558631 (registered on 26/09/2022).

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