Survey of health literacy level and related influencing factors in military college students in Chongqing, China: A cross-sectional analysis

Abstract

Health literacy (HL) has become an important public health issue and is receiving growing attention. However, the HL levels of military college students in China have never been analyzed. This study aimed to investigate the HL and related associate factors in military college students in Chongqing, China. Data was obtained with the “Chinese Citizen Health Literacy Questionnaire (2012 edition)” from 3183 military college students aged 16–28 years at Chongqing in December 2015. A total score of ≥80 points determined adequate HL, and HL level was defined as the proportion of students who had adequate HL out of the total number of participants. Multiple logistic regression analysis with a stepwise forward likelihood ratio (LR) method was used to determine the effects of sociodemographic characteristics, health-related behaviors, and family-related factors on HL level. The mean score of HL was 68.56, and the HL level of military college students was 21.05%; the overall knowledge rate was 71.33%. The independent factors that were associated with HL level were years in college, educational system, time playing online games, annual household income and father's education level. Senior (odds ratio [OR] = 1.229, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.018∼1.484), undergraduate (OR = 1.509, 95% CI 1.151∼1.978), time played games more than 5 hours each week (OR = 0.638, 95% CI 0.486∼0.837), annual household incomes more than 50,000 yuan (OR = 1.231, 95% CI 1.027∼1.476) and father's education level (high school: OR = 2.327, 95% CI 1.186∼4.565; university: OR = 2.450, 95% CI 1.244∼4.825), were independently associated with higher HL level. HL levels of military college students in Chongqing need to be improved across the board. Our data suggests that special emphasis should be placed on students in junior and those in the specialist educational system. School departments may also benefit from incorporating health literacy into their curricula and helping students manage the time they spend playing online games.

Health literacy, depression, and stress among Chinese immigrants in South Korea

“…These results are similar to those of a previous study in which listening comprehension had a particularly strong impact on immigrants’ health literacy (Lee & Lee, ). One interesting point is that health literacy was lower in participants with higher perceived economic status, in contrast to previous studies suggesting that health literacy was higher among those with a higher annual income (Adams et al, ; Rong et al, ; Shen, Hu, Liu, Chang, & Sun, ; Wu et al, ). It may be necessary to look further into this correlation, as there are few studies on this matter.…”

Regional heterogeneities of health literacy in China: a population-based study

“…The health literacy level was defined as the proportion of participants who had adequate health literacy out of the total number of participants. The judging criteria for adequate health literacy (adequate HL) in each dimension or domain were ≥ 80% of the total score of the dimension or domain [9,10].…”

Regional heterogeneities of health literacy in China: a population-based study

“…For the multiple-answer questions, a correct response was de ned as one that contained all of the correct answers and none of the incorrect ones. [12][13].…”