Investigating the relationship between health literacy and Covid-19 preventive behaviors: A cross-sectional study in Hormozgan, Iran.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Student Research Committee, Faculty of Health, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

2 Social Determinants in Health Promotion Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

3 Social Determinants in Health Promotion Research Center, Hormozgan Health Institute, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

4 Student Research Committee, Faculty of Health, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

5 Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

6 Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Management Research Center Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

7 Cardiovascular Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran

Abstract

Background and Objective: A massive amount of formal and informal information about Covid-19 has become a challenge during the pandemic. Therefore, health literacy (HL) development is more important than ever to prepare society for emergent conditions. This study aimed to determine the relationship between health literacy and Covid-19 preventive behaviors in Hormozgan, Iran.

Material and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on participants over 15 years of age who resided in Hormozgan Province, Iran. A total number of 1,292 valid answers were obtained from participants selected through a convenience sampling during December 2021-January 2022. The data were collected using reliable and valid questionnaires including: The Health Literacy Instrument for Iranian Adults (a common standard questionnaire in Iran) and the researcher-made Covid-19 preventive behaviors questionnaire. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were used for data analysis using IBM SPSS Statistics®, version 26.0.  

Results: The mean age of participants was 36.78 ± 10.44 years and their age ranged between 15 and70 years. Among all participants, 45.7% had a high HL and 94.3% reported to have good Covid-19 preventive behaviors. The results showed a significant relationship between behavior and health literacy with age, gender, marital status, education level and source of information. The multiple linear regression findings showed that health literacy was a predictor of the preventive behaviors (p-value <0.001).

Conclusion: The present study showed that HL is a predictor of Covid-19 preventive behaviours. Also, HCWs were regarded as the most widely used sources of Covid-19 information. Monitoring is also recommended to improve the quality of online health-related information and increase the HL of content producers.

Keywords

Acknowledgements: The authors express their gratitude to the deputy of research, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences for funding the project.

 

Conflict of Interest: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

 

Ethical consideration: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences (#IR.HUMS.REC.1400.298). The online self-administered questionnaire was completely anonymous. Before answering the questionnaire, on the first page, information about the purpose of study was provided for participants. No personal details such as first and last name and mobile number were recorded and a voluntary participation was warranted

 

Funding Information: This research was funded by Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences grant number: 4000082.

 

Authors contributions: N.SH and T.A. contributed to the study design and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. SH.M. analysed and interpreted the data. N.SH. and S.D. and R.ER. and A.S. wrote the manuscript and conducted data collection and developed the study protocol and questionnaires, and supervised data collection, F.N. and S.K. conducted data collection and data curation. H.KT. Design online questionnaire. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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