Measuring the health literacy level of Arabic speaking population in Saudi Arabia using translated health literacy instruments

Abstract

Background:Health literacy is an essential predictor of health status, disease control and adherence to medications.Objectives:The study goals were to assess the health literacy level of the general population in Saudi Arabia using translated Gulf Arabic version of the short-version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) and Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS) tests and to measure the relationship between health literacy and education level.Methods:The study was a cross-sectional with a convenience sample of 123 participants from the general population in Riyadh. Data were collected using the modified (Gulf) Arabic versions of both S-TOFHLA and SILS. Fisher’s Exact test was used to measure the difference of the health literacy scores according to the education degrees and Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure the internal consistency of the S-TOFHLA items.Results:More than half (55.4%) of the participants were male, 50.4% had a middle school or less education level, and we found that 84.4% had adequate health literacy as measured by the S-TOFHLA, compared to 49.6% as measured by SILS. The Fisher’s Exact test showed a significant difference (P<.05) in the S-TOFHLA and SILS scores according to education categories.Conclusions:The level of education has a significant positive association with S-TOFHLA and SILS results. The Gulf Arabic version of S-TOFHLA is a reliable test with a good internal consistency and a significant positive correlation between the two parts of S-TOFHLA. We recommend the use of S-TOFHLA or SILS at the first patient visit.

The association of health literacy with glycemic control in Saudi patients with type 2 diabetes

“…Health literacy however was not associated with glycemic control. The present findings are in accordance with the study of Alkhaldi et al, 20 who also found a high prevalence of adequate health literacy among the general Saudi urban population using the same questionnaire. Findings from the present study however is in opposition from a similar cross-sectional study carried out by Alothman et al, 21 who reported that more than half of Saudi T2DM patients have low e-health literacy levels.…”

Association of health literacy and self-management practices and psychological factor among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia

“…The results of our study are similar to the results of studies carried out in the USA, in which low health literacy was observed in patients who were older, female, had primary or secondary education or less, and who had diabetes longer. 21 It is possible that these populations did not fully understand the self-care practices and adherence to medication, as evidenced by the number of patients in this sample who were obese and had an HbA1c over 7%. Given the high number of patients with low functional health literacy, it might be valuable for clinicians to consider assessing all their patients' health literacy and to make sure that patients clearly understand the instructions of the physicians about how to carry out diabetes self-management practices.…”

“…On the contrary, a study carried out in Saudi Arabia shows that out of 123 diabetic patients, 93 respondents had sufficient health literacy. 21 Furthermore, another study conducted in Saudi Arabia found that although a smaller percentage of the participants had an adequate e-health literacy level, more than half of the total diabetic patients expressed a desire to obtain health knowledge through the Internet, especially the younger generation )between 18 and 40 years old(. 22 Our study showed a significant difference in the levels of functional health literacy with age, gender, educational level, employment status, and level of depressive symptoms of T2DM patients.…”

“…This is because the rate of health illiterate individuals in the country ranges from 13% to 30%, which possibly related to the privation of education in the Kingdom. 21 On the other hand, Saudis aged 18 to 40 years old had considerably better health literacy than those aged 41 years old and above, possibly because the younger age group have an advanced degree of educational attainment relative to the older age group. 21 Furthermore, another study shows that more than 50% of diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia admit inadequate e-health knowledge, and some of them had trouble interpreting health data published on a website.…”

The Level of Health Literacy of Seniors Living in Eastern Region of Poland. Preliminary Study

“…Research shows that a lower degree of health knowledge is associated with poorer mental and physical health [ 8 ] and adverse health behaviours such as: lower ability to take care of oneself [ 10 ], higher percentage of avoidable hospitalisations [ 6 , 11 ], and less frequent use of preventive health services [ 12 , 13 ]. People with low levels of HL are less likely to benefit from screening, and have considerable difficulty in understanding their disease, their treatment plan, and especially the treatment of chronic diseases [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Low HL is also associated with higher mortality and lower levels of care satisfaction [ 1 , 9 ].…”