Highly transparent and conductive ZnO:Ga thin films were produced by rf magnetron sputtering at room temperature on polyethylene naphthalate substrates. The films present a good electrical and optical stability, surface uniformity and a very good adhesion to the polymeric substrates. The lowest resistivity obtained was 5×10-4 Ωcm with a sheet resistance of 15 Ω/sqr and an average optical transmittance in the visible part of the spectra of 80 %. It was also shown that by passivating the polymeric surface with a thin SiO2 layer, the electrical and structural properties of the films are improved nearly by a factor of 2.
Gallium-doped zinc oxide films were prepared by rf magnetron sputtering at room temperature as a function of the substrate-target distance. The best results were obtained for a distance of 10 cm, where a resistivity as low as 2.7×10-4 Ωcm, a Hall mobility of 18 cm2/Vs and a carrier concentration of 1.3×1021 cm-3 were achieved. The films are polycrystalline presenting a strong crystallographic c-axis orientation (002) perpendicular to the substrate. The films present an overall transmittance in the visible part of the spectra of about 85 %, in average. The low resistivity, accomplished with a high growth rate deposited at RT, enables the deposition of these films onto polymeric substrates for flexible applications.
Background
Health literacy (HL) concerns the knowledge and competences of people to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. It is essential for health promotion, disease prevention and healthcare. Young adults can perform a very important role in taking a more active role in managing and protect their health, so this study aimed to identify the HL levels in the population of higher education students, according to the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU-PT) and to evaluate its association with social and academic determinants.
Methods
A quantitative, observational, and cross-sectional study was carried out based on an online survey disseminated in Portuguese universities. Data were analysed using binary logistic regression, adjusted for age, income, parents’ education, gender, and chronic disease report.
Results
In total, 4801 students were surveyed, 76% female. Of those, 44% revealed a problematic or inadequate level of HL. Those students with higher income levels (OR (95% CI), OR = 4.5 (3.4; 5.9) and whose parents had higher education levels (OR = 1.3(1.1; 1.5) had higher odds of achieving sufficient or excellent levels of HL, even after adjusting for confounders. In what concerns academic determinants, data revealed that HL tends to be sufficient or excellent among those students from health-related courses (OR = 2.0 (1.6; 2.5). In the subgroup of students from non-health-related courses, it was found that HL levels do not differ in 1st year and last year's students. However, in students from health-related courses, data revealed that a last yeaŕs students had higher odds of having sufficient or excellent HL levels compared to a 1st-year student (OR = 1.7 (1.4; 2.2).
Conclusions
This study reveals low HL levels and addresses that socioeconomic and familiar context are determinants of HL in higher education students. Future intervention studies are needed, focused on these determinants so that adequate levels of HL are achieved in higher education students.
Key messages
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