Health literacy: the missing link in improving the health of Somali immigrant women in Oslo

Gele, Abdi; Pettersen, Kjell Sverre; Torheim, Liv Elin; Kumar, Bernadette N.

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3790-6

Cited by 89 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…In this group, only 38.2% of the respondents had sufficient HL. A high frequency of inadequate and problematic HL measured with the HLS-EU Q16 tool on a group of Somali refugee women in Oslo was reported by Gele et al [39]. It should be noted that these authors calculated the total score and established categories of HL analogically, as did Tiler et al [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Determinants and Consequences of Limited Health Literacy in Polish Society

Duplaga

2020

IJERPH

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Background: Health literacy (HL) is perceived as one of the most important concepts for modern health promotion activities to be successful. The research undertaken in the context of HL usually focuses on its antecedents and consequences, either for specific groups of patients or society or for the whole population. Objectives: The main aim of this study was to assess the antecedents and consequences of limited health literacy (HL) in a nationally representative sample of the Polish population. Methods: The analysis was carried out on the data obtained from a sample of 1000 Polish citizens through a telephone-based survey undertaken using a short, 16-item questionnaire developed within the European Health Literacy Project (HLS-EU). The total HLS score was calculated according to the guidelines published by the HLS-EU project. Chi2 test and logistic regression models were used for the analysis of the relationships between the variables. Results: The mean HL score (standard deviation) in the study sample was 12.99 (3.11). HL was related to age, marital and vocational status. Limited HL was associated with a lower self-assessment of health (OR, 95% CI: 2.52, 1.54-4.13), the prevalence of obesity and disability (1.71, 1.13-2.57, and 1.92, 1.25-2.94, respectively), less frequent physical activity (0.70, 0.49-0.99), a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables (0.47, 0.34-0.65), and with more frequent hospitalisations (2.02, 1.38-2.95). Conclusions: The assessment of HL using the16-item HLS-EU questionnaire may be a useful tool to enable health behaviours and utilisation of health care resources by society to be predicted.The research undertaken in the context of HL usually focuses on its antecedents and consequences, either for specific groups of patients or citizens or for the whole population. The available evidence from population studies shows that health literacy may depend on sex, age, level of education, economic and/or social status, and the type of vocational activities. In the research carried out to date, it has been demonstrated that lower HL is displayed by men rather than by women [4][5][6][7], by people having lower levels of educational attainment than by those with higher levels [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], by single people than by married people [7,13], by people with lower social status than by those with a higher status [8,11,14], by people of lower rather than those of higher economic status or income [4,[7][8][9]13,15,16] and, finally, by people living in more challenging conditions [6,8]. In most studies, there was also a general trend for HL decreasing with age [4,6,8,9,15].The efforts undertaken in the last decade resulted in a comprehensive assessment of the consequences of limited health literacy. In 2011, the updated version of the systematic review authored by Berkman et al. [16] was published. This stated that low HL might be associated with more frequent hospital admissions and the use of emergency care; lower participation in screening programmes, e.g., mammography; lower receipt of ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Determinants and Consequences of Limited Health Literacy in Polish Society

Duplaga

2020

IJERPH

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“…This could lead to misguidance and subsequently health errors and health problems. Health literacy has clearly shown to have an impact on health decisions [70]. These difficulties compromised the quality of care on a number of levels such as discouraging SSA immigrants from accessing care, making it difficult to describe symptoms and disease prevention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Access to Norwegian healthcare system – challenges for sub-Saharan African immigrants

Mbanya

Terragni

Gele

et al. 2019

Int J Equity Health

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Background: Immigrants face barriers in accessing healthcare services in high-income countries. Inequalities in health and access to healthcare services among immigrants have been previously investigated. However, little is known on the sub-Saharan African immigrants' (SSA) access to the Norwegian healthcare system. Methods: The study had a qualitative research design. We used the snowball technique to recruit participants from networks including faith-based organizations and cultural groups. Forty-seven qualitative in-depth interview and two focus group discussions with immigrants from sub-Saharan African were conducted from October 2017 to July 2018 in Oslo and its environs. Interviews were conducted in Norwegian, English or French, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim into English. The analysis was based on a thematic approach, using NVivo software. Interview data were analyzed searching for themes and sub-themes that emerged inductively from the interviews. Results: Our findings reveal barriers in two main categories when accessing the Norwegian healthcare services. The first category includes difficulties before accessing the healthcare system (information access, preference for doctors with an immigrant background, financial barriers, long waiting time and family and job responsibility). The second category includes difficulties experienced within the system (comprehension/expression and language, the black elephant in the room and dissatisfaction with healthcare providers). Conclusion: Healthcare is not equally accessible to all Norwegian residents. This ultimately leads to avoidance of the healthcare system by those most in need. Lack of seeking healthcare services by immigrants from Sub Saharan Africa may have significant implications for the long-term health of this group of immigrants. Therefore measures to address the issues raised should be prioritized and further examined.

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“…Findings from other studies, however, suggest that immigrants may be more likely to seek care in EDs, compared to seeing other medical specialties, for a variety of legal, cultural, and social factors [ 26 ]. In addition, some studies have found that lower levels of healthcare literacy in immigrant communities may impact medical decisions [ 20 , 27 , 28 ]. Third, although not necessarily the case in Switzerland, immigrants often receive minimal coverage through their insurance, and in some cases, may only receive insurance for emergencies [ 15 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, immigrants were more likely to go to the ED for non-acute issues [ 14 , 15 ] and during less “social hours” (e.g., evenings and weekends) [ 14 ]. Other studies have reported that the high use of emergency services may be related to inadequate levels of health literacy, a lack of health care system knowledge, lack of access to a general practitioner, undocumented immigration status and language barriers [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergency Department Discharge Outcome and Psychiatric Consultation in North African Patients

Keidar

Jegerlehner

Ziegenhorn

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Studies in Europe have found that immigrants, compared to the local population, are more likely to seek out medical care in Emergency Departments (EDs). In addition, studies show that immigrants utilize medical services provided by EDs for less acute issues. Despite these observed differences, little is known about the characteristics of ED use by North African (NA) immigrants. The main objective of this study was to examine whether there were differences in ED discharge outcomes and psychiatric referrals between NA immigrants and Swiss nationals. A retrospective analysis was conducted using patient records from NA and Swiss adults who were admitted to the ED of the University Hospital in Bern (Switzerland) from 2013–2016. Measures included demographic information as well as data on types of admission. Outcome variables included discharge type and psychiatric referral. A total of 77,619 patients generated 116,859 consultations to the ED, of which 1.1 per cent (n = 1338) were consultations by NA patients. Compared to Swiss national patients, NA patients were younger, with a median age of 38.0 (IQR 28–51 years vs. 52.0 (IQR 32–52) for Swiss and predominantly male (74.4% vs. 55.6% in the Swiss). NA patient admission type was more likely to be “walk-in” or legal admission (7.5% vs 0.8 in Swiss,). Logistic regressions indicated that NA patients had 1.2 times higher odds (95% CI 1.07–1.40, p < 0.003) of receiving ambulatory care. An effect modification by age group and sex was observed for the primary outcome “seen by a psychiatrist”, especially for men in the 16–25 years age group, whereby male NA patients had 3.45 times higher odds (95% CI: 2.22–5.38) of having being seen by a psychiatrist. In conclusion differences were observed between NA and Swiss national patients in ED consultations referrals and outcomes, in which NA had more ambulatory discharges and NA males, especially young, were more likely to have been seen by psychiatrist. Future studies would benefit from identifying those factors underlying these differences in ED utilization.

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Health literacy: the missing link in improving the health of Somali immigrant women in Oslo

Cited by 89 publications

References 33 publications

Determinants and Consequences of Limited Health Literacy in Polish Society

Determinants and Consequences of Limited Health Literacy in Polish Society

Access to Norwegian healthcare system – challenges for sub-Saharan African immigrants

Emergency Department Discharge Outcome and Psychiatric Consultation in North African Patients

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