• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2017

Objectives: This study thus set out to examine the health literacy and self-care behaviors of community-dwelling elderly patients with hypertension and investigate their relations and influential factors, thus providing basic data to develop a nursing intervention program to promote self-care behaviors among hypertension patients. Methods: The subjects include 180 hypertension patients using community health centers, public senior centers, and welfare centers in Jeju. Results: The subjects scored a mean of 49.8 (${\pm}12.4$) points on health literacy and 55.8 (${\pm}6.7$) points on self-care behaviors. In the results of hierarchical regression analysis, health literacy independently predicted self-care behaviors (${\beta}=.12$, p=.050) after controlling for general characteristics, hypertension-related knowledge and self-efficacy. Conclusions: These results suggest that interventions for improving health literacy are important to enhance elder's ability of self-care behaviors. It is necessary to understand the health literacy of elderly patients with hypertension before providing them with educational intervention and information and to develop appropriate educational materials and intervention programs.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.300-312
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigated knowledge of atopic dermatitis and food allergies, as well as health information literacy, among North Korean refugee mothers with preschool-age children and explored how these variables were related to participants' characteristics. Methods: A descriptive study design was used. Data from 130 North Korean refugee mothers were collected between January and March 2023. Results: The mean scores were 14.48 of 30 for atopic dermatitis knowledge; 2.77 of 10 for food allergy knowledge, and 56.95 of 80 for health information literacy. Significant differences were observed in knowledge of atopic dermatitis based on breastfeeding duration (F=4.12, p=.009), and in knowledge of food allergies based on mixed feeding (F=3.11, p=.049). Health information literacy showed significant relationships with education level (F=3.76, p=.026), occupation (F=3.99, p=.021), checking nutritional information (t=2.91, p=.004), mixed feeding (F=4.50, p=.014), and atopic dermatitis diagnosis (t=6.86, p=.001). Significant positive correlations were observed between atopic dermatitis knowledge, food allergy knowledge, and health information literacy. Conclusion: Personalized educational programs should be implemented to improve awareness of allergies and health information literacy among North Korean refugee mothers, which would help them find, evaluate, and understand health-related information. These programs should focus on providing nutrition and dietary education to promote healthy growth in children and prevent diseases.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.322-336
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the current state and trends of health literacy research considering migrants living in South Korea. Methods: A review of the literature was conducted using electronic data base and citation tracking. A total of 82 articles were identified, of which 16 articles that met the inclusion criteria were selected for review. Two authors reviewed the articles independently using a matrix table and then examined four aspects of the studies jointly: research method, immigrant characteristics, health literacy assessment, and main findings. Results: Most of the articles (n=13) were descriptive studies and three were methodology studies for instrument development. Of the 13 studies, eight involved female immigrants, four of health literacy involved migrant workers, and four concerned North Korean Refugees. A total of eight types of health literacy assessment tools were used. Sufficient samples and sampling methods were lacking at the population level. Conclusion: The results of the review generally showed that the health literacy of immigrants was lower than that of native South Koreans, and that there was a difference between nationality and gender among immigrants; however, further research is needed to review a larger sample with a validated instrument.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.404-411
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• 2021

Objectives: Given the increase in osteoporosis among health volunteers and the effect of health literacy on the adoption of nutritional preventive behaviors, this study aimed to determine the effects of an educational intervention on health literacy and the adoption of nutritional preventive behaviors related to osteoporosis among health volunteers. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental, interventional study of health volunteers conducted in 2020. In this study, 140 subjects (70 in both intervention and control groups) were selected using the random multi-stage sampling method. An educational intervention was conducted using the Telegram application, and educational messages were sent to the health volunteers in the intervention group across 6 sessions. Data were collected via a demographic questionnaire, the Health Literacy for Iranian Adults survey, and a nutritional performance questionnaire, which were completed before and 3 months after the intervention. The data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results: Before the intervention, there were no significant differences in the mean scores for health literacy variables and the adoption of nutritional preventive behaviors between the intervention and control groups (p>0.05). After the intervention, there was a significant change in the mean scores for health literacy and the adoption of preventive behaviors in the intervention group (p<0.05) as opposed to the control group. Conclusions: Interventions aimed at increasing health literacy are effective for promoting the adoption of preventive and healthy nutritional behaviors related to osteoporosis.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.769-781
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• 2021

Purpose: Health literacy is a significant determinant of health and health behaviors such as cancer screening. Despite its significance, there are limited instruments available to assess health literacy targeting Koreans. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of Korean translation of a validated health literacy instrument in cancer screening-Korean version of assessment of health literacy in breast and cervical cancer screening (K-AHL-C). Methods: A total of 555 women aged 20~65 participated in the online survey study. Of 52 items addressing five domains included in the original version, we focused on 36 items addressing three key domains closely associated with cancer screening: familiarity, health navigation, and comprehension. Results: During content validation, two items from the health navigation domain were removed, yielding 34 items. Using Rasch analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, we found the evidence of construct validity of K-AHL-C. The Korean version was also significantly correlated with measures of Functional Health Literacy scale, cancer prevention behaviors, and subjective health status, suggesting convergent validities respectively. Finally, K-AHL-C had acceptable reliability coefficients (α) ranging from 0.71 to 0.92 for each domain and the total scale. Conclusion: These psychometric properties support the K-AHL-C is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring Koreans' health literacy in cancer screening. Also it is expected to use the instrument to detect breast and cervical cancer early and improve the screening rate, and ultimately to contribute to the promotion of women's health and women's health nursing practice.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.434-443
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• 2017

The study was carried out to identify the relationship of patients' self-rating and nurses' rating on health literacy of hospitalized patients. Data were collected using the Korean Functional Health Literacy Test (KFHLT) which was revised for hospitalized patients and Single Item Literacy Screener. A total of 178 subjects, which consisted of 89 hospitalized patients and 89 nurses taking care of them, were recruited from medical and surgical wards of E university hospital. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 program. The results showed that the average health literacy score of the subjects was $11.45{\pm}4.22$ out of 17 and the average correct answer rate was 67.3%. Patient health literacy was significantly different by age, education, occupation and reading handouts. The patients' self-rating had significant correlation with health literacy measured by KFHLT while nurses' rating did not. There was no significant correlation between patients' self-rating and nurses' rating. The findings suggest that patients' self-rating might be available to assess patient health literacy in hospitals and a careful approach is required when nurses use a single-item rating.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.28-37
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was to investigate the relationships between among health literacy, knowledge and self-care behavior in elderly patients with heart failure(HF). Methods: 166 patients (age ${\geq}65$ years) with HF were recruited in a cardiovascular center of an university affiliated hospital. The structured questionnaire included Health literacy, Dutch Heart Failure Knowledge Scale, European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior, Self-Care of Heart Failure Index. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-test, Pearson correlation analysis, t-test and ANCOVA using SPSS/WIN version 21.0. Results: Participants with the high level of health literacy were more likely to be younger (p=.001), men (p=.001), with more education (p<.001), and have a job (p=.004), and with a higher economic status (p=.005). The positive correlations between the level of health literacy, knowledge, and self-care behavior were confirmed (p<.001). Participants with the high level of health literacy showed higher level of knowledge, more self-care behavior for health maintenance, and confidence. Conclusion: This study shows that the level of health literacy may influence knowledge and self-care behavior in elderly patients with HF. In order to improve self-care behaviors in elderly patients, a strategic nursing approach based on the level of patients' health literacy needs to be considered.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.54-64
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• 2014

Purpose: This study is to measure oral health literacy levels and to identify oral health literacy related factors in elders. Methods: The research design for this study was a descriptive survey design using convenience samples. Data collection was done by using a self-report questionnaire with 321 elders from three welfare centers for the aged and two senior centers located in three cities. Data were analyzed by using percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, Scheff$\acute{e}$, Pearson's Correlation Analysis and hierarchical multiple regression with the SPSS Win 18.0 Program. Results: The oral health literacy scores of male elders were higher than those of female elders (t=9.73, p=.002). In hierarchical multiple regression analysis, education levels, smoking and oral health statuses were significant predictors and accounted for 29.8% of the male elders' oral health literacy. For female elders, education levels, health statuses and oral health statuses were significant predictors and accounted for 47.7%. Conclusion: These results suggest that interventions for improving oral health literacy are necessary to enhance elders' ability of self-care management. Also, these results could be used in developing oral health literacy programs.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.395-407
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• 2020

The current study aims to examine whether dementia service utilization is associated with cognitive function and whether health literacy moderates the relationship between dementia service utilization and cognitive function. Data were drawn from the 2016 Dementia Literacy Survey collected by K University. The final analytic sample included 522 community-dwelling older Koreans aged 60 to 79. Results from multivariate regression analyses showed that both dementia service use and higher levels of health literacy were related to better cognitive function and that health literacy had significant moderating effects. When older adults used dementia service, those with higher levels of health literacy reported higher levels of cognitive function than those with lower levels of health literacy. Our findings suggest that health literacy plays an important role in determining the cognitive health benefits arising from dementia service utilization.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.132-143
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• 2021

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the relationships between health literacy competencies and patient-centered care among clinical nurses. Methods: The participants of this study were 254 nurses working in two hospitals in the D region. The data were collected from July to August 2020. The health literacy competencies for registered nurses scale and individualized care scale were utilized. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. Results: The mean of health literacy competencies was 3.16±0.31 points on a four-point scale, and the average of patient-centered care was 3.69±0.50 points on a five-point scale. Regarding the nurses' general characteristics, patient-centered care showed significant differences according to age (F=4.68, p=.010), marital status (t=-2.38, p=.018), religion (F=3.03, p=.030), total clinical experience (F=2.94, p=.021) and prior health literacy knowledge (t=3.20, p=.002). As a result of a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, health literacy competencies (β=.63) were found to significantly influence patient-centered care. The explanatory power of the model was 41.0% (F=25.58, p<.001). Conclusion: The study suggests that nurse's health literacy competencies should be developed in order to improve patient-centered care. Nursing education should include an emphasis on integrating health literacy into the nursing school curriculum.