Factors Associated with Health Literacy in Suburban
Bangkok Type 2 Diabetics (T2DM): A Cross-Sectional
Survey
Junkhaw T, BSc, MPH¹, Munisamy M, MD, MCommHSc, MSc, PhD¹, Samrongthong R, BSc, MA, PhD¹,
Taneepanichskul S, MPH, MD¹
Affiliation : ¹ College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
Background: Health literacy encompasses an individual capacity to make health decision. Low health literacy has been linked
to poorer diabetes outcome as health problem in Thailand.
Objective: To evaluate health literacy levels and determine associated factors among diabetics in suburban Bangkok, Thailand.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out amongst type 2 diabetics (T2DM) followed up at a public primary healthcare centre in Sai Mai, Bangkok. Simple random sampling was used to obtain an adequate sample as 312 T2DM who were administered with a locally-adapted questionnaire to determine three skill domains of health literacy, which are functional, interactive, and critical. One-way ANOVA, t-tests were used to assess the relationship of various associated factors with the three domains of health literacy. Analytical was performed using SPSS 16.
Results: Of the 312 patients sampled, almost two-thirds had moderate health literacy levels across functional, interactive, and critical skills domains. Despite these health literacy levels, 61.5% of the samples had poor glycemic control. Education was the only factor significantly associated with health literacy across all three skill domains.
Conclusion: In Thai diabetics, the study showed moderate levels of health literacy. Besides education, other factors may be affecting such as health numeracy. Targeted future research may pinpoint a strategy that directly impact diabetes disease outcomes.
Keywords : Health literacy, Health education, Health promotion, Diabetes mellitus, Thailand
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