Although uncommon, spontaneous and postoperative pyogenic spondylodiscitis entail major morbidity and may be associated with serious long-term sequelae. A review of the literature was done to advance our understanding of the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of these infections. The principles of conservative treatment are to establish an accurate microbiological diagnosis, treat with appropriate antibiotics, immobilize the spine, and closely monitor for spinal instability and neurological deterioration. The purpose of surgical treatment is to obtain multiple intraoperative cultures of bone and soft tissue, perform a thorough debridement of infected tissue and decompression of neural structures, and reconstruct the unstable spinal column with bone graft with or without concomitant instrumentation. Appropriate management requires aggressive medical treatment and, at times, surgical interventions. If recognized early and treated appropriately, a full recovery can often be expected. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of the clinical presentation of such infections to improve patient outcome.

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Background: To date, there has been a dearth of research on health literacy in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and in particular Lebanon. Objectives: This cross-sectional study assessed the levels and correlates of health literacy in Lebanese adults. Methods: A total of 587 participants (54.5% women) were recruited from the outpatient clinics of five health facilities in Beirut. The questionnaire consisted of the Arabic version of the Functional Health literacy Scale, the Arabic short version of the European Health Literacy Survey, and questions on sociodemographic and health-related factors. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to assess the association of these factors with functional health literacy (FHL) and comprehensive health literacy (CHL) levels. Key Results: About 65.8% had inadequate or problematic FHL and 43.8% had inadequate or problematic CHL. Although FHL was negatively correlated with long-term illness, it was positively correlated with ability to pay and health status. CHL was positively correlated with education, income, ability to pay for treatment, health status, and FHL level, whereas it was negatively correlated with long-term illness. Binary logistic regression showed that low education, low socioeconomic status, and being a widow were predictive of inadequate FHL. Moreover, having inadequate FHL and low income increased the likelihood of having inadequate CHL. Conclusion: This study has identified those with risk factors for inadequate health literacy and unfavorable health outcomes. A national action plan can guide the promotion of health literacy and its embeddedness in society to instill competencies and the environment that would eliminate health inequities and sustain health in Lebanon. [ HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice . 2021;5(4):e295–e309.] Plain Language Summary: This study examined health literacy levels and correlates in 587 Lebanese adults using two recognized screening tools. The first tool measured functional health literacy (FHL), which represents the ability of a person to acquire information on health through reading or writing. The second tool assessed comprehensive health literacy (CHL), which encompasses the ability of a person to use their social skills to acquire health information from different media and make appropriate health decisions based on this information. Close to two-thirds of the participants had inadequate or problematic FHL. More specifically, low education, low socioeconomic status, and widowhood were predictive of inadequate FHL. Nearly one-half of the participants had inadequate or problematic CHL with an increased likelihood of inadequate levels in people with low FHL and low income.

Background This cross-sectional study evaluates digital health literacy (DHL) and web-based information-seeking behaviour of Lebanese university students in light of the coronavirus pandemic and the ‘infodemic'. Methods 18 universities took part in the study. Ethical approval was sought from the ethics committees of the participating universities. Data collection was carried out in May-August 2020. The survey was discontinued due to the devastating explosion that shook Beirut early August. Results A total of 602 students (60.1% females), 20.6 years (±4.3) took part in the study. 54% reported using the Internet to seek for COVID-19 information in the past month. Students in fields other than health and social sciences (HHS), and not using official sources, had limited DHL for information seeking (26.6%). Lebanese students, at undergraduate level, with a health impairment, and not using official sources and news portals had limited DHL for adding self-generated content (35.9%). Students at undergraduate level, who used social media for information, had limited DHL for evaluating reliability (42.7%). Non-HHS, with a health impairment, and not using official sources had limited DHL for determining relevance (32.0%). Graduate students had higher odds of having sufficient DHL for adding self-generated content (OR = 2.304; 95% CI = 1.076, 4.937) and evaluating reliability (OR = 2.440; 95% CI = 1.171, 5.087). Frequent users of official sources had higher odds (OR = 1.684; 95% CI = 1.065, 2.665) of having sufficient DHL for adding self-generated content. Those who regularly used social media for information had lower odds (OR = 0.577; 95% CI = 0.351, 0.946) regarding evaluating reliability. Conclusions Health education programmes in Lebanon need to strengthen digital health literacy in university students, particularly in undergraduates, in fields other than health and social sciences, in those relying on social media, and those with a health impairment.

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