Communicative Health Literacy and Associated Variables in Nine European Countries: Results from the HLS Survey

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2024 Dec 5

PMID 39632907

Authors

Salvatore Metanmo

Hanne Soberg Finbraten

Henrik Boggild

Peter Nowak

Robert Griebler

Oystein Guttersrud

Eva Biro

Brigid Unim

Unim Brigid

Rana Charafeddine

Lennert Griese

Zdenek Kucera

Christopher Le

Doris Schaeffer

Mitja Vrdelja

Julien Mancini

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Our study aimed to report on variables associated with communicative health literacy (COM-HL) in European adults. The HLS survey was conducted in 2019-2021 including nine countries which measured COM-HL by using a validated questionnaire (HLS-COM-P-Q6 with a score ranging from 0 to 100). Linear regression models were used to study variables associated with COM-HL globally (multilevel model with random intercepts and slopes and at country level) and in each country. Additional models studied each of the HLS-COM-P-Q6 items separately. The mean COM-HL score ranged between 62.5 and 76.6 across countries. Among the 18,137 pooled participants, COM-HL was positively associated with age, a higher self-perceived social status, previous training in healthcare, an increasing number of general practitioner visits; and negatively associated with female sex, reported financial difficulties, having a chronic condition and an increasing number of specialist visits. These effects were heterogeneous from one country to another, and from one item to another when analysing the different COM-HL items separately. However, there was a consistent statistically significant association between COM-HL (score and each item) and financial difficulties as well as self-perceived social status in all countries. Interventions to improve communication between patients and physicians should be a high priority to limit communication disparities.

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