Health literacy of child rearing and its determinants among caregivers of 0‒3 year-old children in Minhang District， Shanghai

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the status of health literacy of child rearing among caregivers of 0‒3 year-old children and analyze its determinants in Minhang District， Shanghai to provide scientific evidence for further promoting health literacy of caregivers.MethodsThe caregivers of 0‒3 year-old children were randomly selected and investigated using a questionnaire of health literacy in 13 community health care centers of Minhang District from March 2020 to April 2021.ResultsA total of 2819 valid questionnaires were collected. The total score of health literacy of child rearing for caregivers were 159.2±23.1 （full score being 200.0）. The score of physical health literacy and mental health literacy were 80.0±10.2 and 79.1±15.1， respectively （full score being 100.0）. The proportions of health literacy in the caregivers were： scarce 3.1%， insufficient 7.6%， good 47.2%， and excellent 42.1%. The multivariate ordinal Logistic regression model showed the following were independent determinants： always （OR=5.90） or often （OR=3.55） choosing information from professional approach like hospital to guide children rearing，mother （OR=4.98） or father （OR=3.95） being caregivers， easy access to children rearing information （OR=4.50）， mother education degree being master and above （OR=3.10） or junior college， undergraduate （OR=2.14）， father education degree being junior college， undergraduate （OR=1.59） or master and above （OR=1.53）， single child （OR=1.37）， household registration being Shanghai （OR=1.37）. All caregivers with the above factors showed more superior health literacy.ConclusionThe level of health literacy of child rearing among caregivers of 0‒3 year-old children in Minhang District has a good level of health literacy. Targeted health education should be strengthened for caregivers of children in the future.

Keywords

• child rearing
• health literacy
• determinant
• shanghai