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Rahmawati BA, Rochmawati E. Trying to understand the illness: A qualitative investigation of health literacy of patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. Nurs Health Sci 2024; 26:e13120. [PMID: 38605631 DOI: 10.1111/nhs.13120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Limited health literacy is high among patients with chronic kidney disease, which can pose challenges in health care. Evidence of health literacy in Indonesia, particularly regarding patients undergoing hemodialysis, is lacking. In this study, we aimed to explore health literacy in adult patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. An inductive qualitative study was conducted. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 adult patients undergoing hemodialysis, four family caregivers, and four healthcare professionals. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Three themes emerged from the data: "Trying to understand the illness," "searching and obtaining health information," and "applying health information." Understanding and accepting the illness included raising awareness of the changes in their lives and accepting these changes. Participants actively sought information from healthcare professionals and other sources and used it carefully. Behavioral changes included patients' adherence to therapy, although participants often felt bored during the illness trajectory. Understanding the illness and being willing to seek and critically evaluate health information before implementing it are important. These aspects may affect patient outcomes and require further intervention and research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Berlian Ayu Rahmawati
- School of Nursing, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- Muhammadiyah Siti Aminah Bumiayu Hospital, Brebes, Indonesia
| | - Erna Rochmawati
- School of Nursing, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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Sapbamrer R, Sittitoon N, Thongtip S, Chaipin E, Sutalangka C, La-up A, Thirarattanasunthon P, Thammachai A, Suwannakul B, Sangkarit N, Kitro A, Panumasvivat J, Srisookkum T. Socio-demographic, agricultural, and personal protective factors in relation to health literacy among farmers from all regions of Thailand. Front Public Health 2024; 12:1364296. [PMID: 38590809 PMCID: PMC10999635 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1364296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Farmers are vulnerable to adverse health effects from pesticide exposure due to their health literacy (HL). Therefore, this study aims to investigate HL among farmers in four main regions of Thailand, investigating socio-demographics, agricultural, and personal protective factors to their HL. Methods This cross-sectional design study was conducted on 4,035 farmers from January to July 2023. The European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire-47 items were used to measure HL. Results Thai farmers had a mean HL score of 34.7 ± 8.7, and the farmers in the North region of Thailand had the highest frequency of limited HL (75.8%). Socio-demographic factors that were associated with HL included gender, region of living, marital status, education level, co-morbidity, and number of family members. Agricultural factors associated with HL included planting status, working hours on farm, spraying pesticides, harvesting crops, pesticide use of >1 type, access information from government officers, access information from posters/brochures, information from online multimedia, and access information from neighbors. Personal protective factors that were associated with HL included wearing a hat, goggles, a rubber apron, and a long-sleeved shirt. Discussion Our study recommends that strategies and interventions to enhance the HL of farmers should be focused on the target populations, which include men, widows, or divorced, those with low levels of education, those who have co-morbidities, and those who applied pesticides of more than 1 type and improper personal protective equipment (PPE) use. The primary emphasis needs to be on the North region of Thailand, making that the target area to improve health equity in Thailand. These efforts would enhance the HL of farmers and sustainably improve pesticide safety behavior. Additionally, there is an urgent need for supportive measures aimed at altering on-farm practices and promoting education on alternative pest management strategies, particularly non-chemical crop protection, to ensure sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ratana Sapbamrer
- Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Environmental and Occupational Medicine Excellence Center (EnOMEC), Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Nalin Sittitoon
- School of Environmental Health, Institute of Public Health, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
| | - Sakesun Thongtip
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand
| | - Eakasit Chaipin
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Science, Rajabhat Lampang University, Lampang, Thailand
| | - Chatchada Sutalangka
- Department of Physical Therapy, School of Integrative Medicine, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand
| | - Aroon La-up
- Nakhonsawan Campus, Mahidol University, Nakhonsawan, Thailand
| | | | - Ajchamon Thammachai
- Department of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand
| | - Boonsita Suwannakul
- Department of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand
| | - Noppharath Sangkarit
- Department of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand
| | - Amornphat Kitro
- Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Environmental and Occupational Medicine Excellence Center (EnOMEC), Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Jinjuta Panumasvivat
- Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Environmental and Occupational Medicine Excellence Center (EnOMEC), Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Taweewun Srisookkum
- Department of Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand
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Agner J, Bau KE, Bruland D. An Introduction to Health Literacy and Social Contexts with Recommendations for Health Professionals and Researchers. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2024; 21:240. [PMID: 38397728 PMCID: PMC10888032 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21020240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Rarely do individuals seek, obtain, and understand health information in a solitary void [...].
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy Agner
- Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA;
| | - Katharine Elizabeth Bau
- Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA;
| | - Dirk Bruland
- Institute for Educational and Health-Care Research in the Health Sector, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Interaktion 1, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany;
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Zhuang M, Li CC, Chen SY, Tu XH, Liu L, Chen XL, Xu CW, Wang J. Development and validation of a Systemic Sclerosis Health Literacy Scale. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1038019. [PMID: 36908416 PMCID: PMC9996225 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1038019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and aim Health literacy levels are strongly associated with clinical outcomes and quality of life in patients with chronic diseases, and patients with limited health literacy often require more medical care and achieve poorer clinical outcomes. Among the large number of studies on health literacy, few studies have focused on the health literacy of people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and there is no specific tool to measure health literacy in this group. Therefore, this study plans to develop a health literacy scale for patients with SSc. Methods This study included 428 SSc patients from the outpatient and inpatient departments of the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, the first affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University and the first affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China. The formulation of the scale was completed by forming the concept of health literacy of SSc patients, establishing the item pool, screening items, and evaluating reliability and validity. Classical measurement theory was used to screen items, factor analysis was used to explore the construct validity of the scale, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to assess the internal consistency. Results Our study population was predominantly middle-aged women, with a male to female ratio of 1:5.7 and a mean age of 51.57 ± 10.99. A SSc Health Literacy scale with 6 dimensions and 30 items was developed. The six dimensions are clinic ability, judgment/evaluation information ability, access to information ability, social support, treatment compliance and application information ability. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale is 0.960, retest reliability is 0.898, split-half reliability is 0.953, content validity is 0.983, which has good reliability and validity. Conclusion The Systemic Sclerosis Health Literacy Scale may become a valid tool to evaluate the health literacy level of patients with SSc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Zhuang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Medical Data Processing Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Cheng-Cheng Li
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Medical Data Processing Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Shan-Yu Chen
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Xin-Hua Tu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Medical Data Processing Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Lian Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Medical Data Processing Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Xi-Lai Chen
- Department of Statistics, College of Statistics and Applied Mathematics, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu, China
| | - Cheng-Wei Xu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Medical Data Processing Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Jing Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.,Medical Data Processing Center, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
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