Health literacy in Europe: comparative results of the European health literacy survey (HLS-EU)

Abstract

Background: Health literacy concerns the capacities of people to meet the complex demands of health in modern society. In spite of the growing attention for the concept among European health policymakers, researchers and practitioners, information about the status of health literacy in Europe remains scarce. This article presents selected findings from the first European comparative survey on health literacy in populations. Methods: The European health literacy survey (HLS-EU) was conducted in eight countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain (n = 1000 per country, n = 8000 total sample). Data collection was based on Eurobarometer standards and the implementation of the HLS-EU-Q (questionnaire) in computer-assisted or paper-assisted personal interviews. Results: The HLS-EU-Q constructed four levels of health literacy: insufficient, problematic, sufficient and excellent. At least 1 in 10 (12%) respondents showed insufficient health literacy and almost 1 in 2 (47%) had limited (insufficient or problematic) health literacy. However, the distribution of levels differed substantially across countries (29–62%). Subgroups within the population, defined by financial deprivation, low social status, low education or old age, had higher proportions of people with limited health literacy, suggesting the presence of a social gradient which was also confirmed by raw bivariate correlations and a multivariate linear regression model. Discussion: Limited health literacy represents an important challenge for health policies and practices across Europe, but to a different degree for different countries. The social gradient in health literacy must be taken into account when developing public health strategies to improve health equity in Europe.

The role of the nurse in improving health literacy among older adults

“…The level of health literacy tells us how an individual understands the instructions that he or she receives within the healthcare system, how he or she functions within the healthcare system, and that is why with its help it is possible to predict, how healthy an individual is going to be in future [26]. That is extremely important when taking into consideration more vulnerable population groups, such as older adults, the group which can nowadays be linked to multimorbidity, loneliness and related health and social problems.…”

Beliefs about prescribed medication among older patients with polypharmacy: a mixed methods study in primary care

“…At the same time however, some participants reported poor knowledge of their medications, a common trait among patients taking multiple drugs, and older people in general tend to have poorer health literacy. (28,33,34) This highlights the complex interplay of strong beliefs in the context of limited knowledge. Indeed, a previous study involving frail older patients found no relationship between strong beliefs and medication knowledge.…”

Gesundheitskompetenz von Erwachsenen in Deutschland

“…Bisherige Studien weisen darauf hin, dass eine eingeschränkte GK negative Auswirkungen auf den Gesundheitszustand, das Gesundheitsverhalten, bestimmte Risikofaktoren und die Nutzung und Kosten der Gesundheitsversorgung hat [2,10,[12][13][14]. Dabei ist zu berücksichtigen, dass die Ausprägung der GK in der Bevölkerung nicht gleich verteilt ist.…”

“…Dabei ist zu berücksichtigen, dass die Ausprägung der GK in der Bevölkerung nicht gleich verteilt ist. Bevölkerungs-gruppen mit besonders geringer GK sind häufig durch einen niedrigen Bildungsstand, geringes Einkommen, einen Migrationshintergrund, einen schlechten Gesundheitszustand und ein hohes Lebensalter gekennzeichnet [2,10,[14][15][16]. Daher werden zunehmend Interventionen zur Verbesserung der GK entwickelt, besonders für Patientinnen und Patienten in der Gesundheitsversorgung [17,18], aber auch für Bevölkerungsgruppen mit spezifischen Risiken oder Erkrankungen [13,[19][20][21].…”