Health Literacy in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study

Van Tuyen Duong; I-Feng Lin; Kristine Sorensen; Juergen M. Pelikan; Stephan Van den Broucke; Ying-Chin Lin; Peter Wushou Chang

doi:10.1177/1010539515607962

Health Literacy in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study

Van Tuyen Duong, I-Feng Lin, Kristine Sorensen, Juergen M. Pelikan, Stephan Van den Broucke, Ying-Chin Lin, Peter Wushou Chang^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Data on health literacy (HL) in the population is limited for Asian countries. This study aimed to test the validity of the Mandarin version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q) for use in the general public in Taiwan. Multistage stratification random sampling resulted in a sample of 2989 people aged 15 years and above. The HLS-EU-Q was validated by confirmatory factor analysis with excellent model data fit indices. The general HL of the Taiwanese population was 34.4 +/- 6.6 on a scale of 50. Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher general HL is significantly associated with the higher ability to pay for medication, higher self-perceived social status, higher frequency of watching health-related TV, and community involvement but associated with younger age. HL is also associated with health status, health behaviors, and health care accessibility and use. The HLS-EU-Q was found to be a useful tool to assess HL and its associated factors in the general population.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	871-880
Journal	Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health
Volume	27
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1010539515607962
Publication status	Published - Nov 2015

Keywords

health literacy
HLS-EU-Qs
Taiwan
age
health-related TV

Access to Document

10.1177/1010539515607962

Cite this

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title = "Health Literacy in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study",

abstract = "Data on health literacy (HL) in the population is limited for Asian countries. This study aimed to test the validity of the Mandarin version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q) for use in the general public in Taiwan. Multistage stratification random sampling resulted in a sample of 2989 people aged 15 years and above. The HLS-EU-Q was validated by confirmatory factor analysis with excellent model data fit indices. The general HL of the Taiwanese population was 34.4 +/- 6.6 on a scale of 50. Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher general HL is significantly associated with the higher ability to pay for medication, higher self-perceived social status, higher frequency of watching health-related TV, and community involvement but associated with younger age. HL is also associated with health status, health behaviors, and health care accessibility and use. The HLS-EU-Q was found to be a useful tool to assess HL and its associated factors in the general population.",

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author = "{Van Tuyen Duong} and I-Feng Lin and Kristine Sorensen and Pelikan, {Juergen M.} and {Van den Broucke}, Stephan and Ying-Chin Lin and Chang, {Peter Wushou}",

year = "2015",

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AU - Van Tuyen Duong,

AU - Lin, I-Feng

AU - Sorensen, Kristine

AU - Pelikan, Juergen M.

AU - Van den Broucke, Stephan

AU - Lin, Ying-Chin

AU - Chang, Peter Wushou

PY - 2015/11

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N2 - Data on health literacy (HL) in the population is limited for Asian countries. This study aimed to test the validity of the Mandarin version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q) for use in the general public in Taiwan. Multistage stratification random sampling resulted in a sample of 2989 people aged 15 years and above. The HLS-EU-Q was validated by confirmatory factor analysis with excellent model data fit indices. The general HL of the Taiwanese population was 34.4 +/- 6.6 on a scale of 50. Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher general HL is significantly associated with the higher ability to pay for medication, higher self-perceived social status, higher frequency of watching health-related TV, and community involvement but associated with younger age. HL is also associated with health status, health behaviors, and health care accessibility and use. The HLS-EU-Q was found to be a useful tool to assess HL and its associated factors in the general population.

AB - Data on health literacy (HL) in the population is limited for Asian countries. This study aimed to test the validity of the Mandarin version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q) for use in the general public in Taiwan. Multistage stratification random sampling resulted in a sample of 2989 people aged 15 years and above. The HLS-EU-Q was validated by confirmatory factor analysis with excellent model data fit indices. The general HL of the Taiwanese population was 34.4 +/- 6.6 on a scale of 50. Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher general HL is significantly associated with the higher ability to pay for medication, higher self-perceived social status, higher frequency of watching health-related TV, and community involvement but associated with younger age. HL is also associated with health status, health behaviors, and health care accessibility and use. The HLS-EU-Q was found to be a useful tool to assess HL and its associated factors in the general population.

KW - health literacy

KW - HLS-EU-Qs

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