Exploring the Influencing Factors of Health Literacy among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background and Objectives: To investigate the health literacy (HL) among older adults in Taiwan, we referenced an existing integrated model of HL to confirm the influencing factors of HL in older adults. We propose this study to examine the personal, situational, and socioenvironmental factors influencing HL among older adults. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a district hospital and affiliated community center in northern Taiwan from August 2016 to May 2017. This study used the Mandarin Chinese version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (EU-Q47). We designed three models based on the three domains of HL. Model 1 assesses personal factors. Model 2 incorporates situational factors. Model 3 adds the socioenvironmental factor. Results: We recruited 161 participants aged over 65 years. Most adults in this study had limited overall HL. The final regression model revealed that age >85 years, unknown insurance status, and dominant spoken dialect of Hakka or Taiwanese were significantly associated with higher scores of HL. Conclusions: Our study results may help clinicians with early identification of older adults at high risk for poor HL and help health administrators establish geriatric policies and health education plans.

Keywords

• health literacy
• older adults
• dominant spoken dialect
• influencing factors of health literacy