Relationship between health literacy and COVID-19 knowledge: A cross-sectional study

Zhenbo Tao; Qianqian Xu; Yingying Zhu; Qiuhong Mei; Hongwei Feng; Qiuyan Jin; Shige Ding; Ying Dong

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1058029

Relationship between health literacy and COVID-19 knowledge: A cross-sectional study

Front Public Health. 2023 Feb 20:11:1058029. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1058029. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Zhenbo Tao¹, Qianqian Xu¹, Yingying Zhu¹, Qiuhong Mei¹, Hongwei Feng¹, Qiuyan Jin¹, Shige Ding¹, Ying Dong¹

Affiliation

¹ Ningbo Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract

Background: Health literacy (HL) is a protective factor for some chronic diseases. However, its role in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not been clarified. This study aims to explore the association between HL and COVID-19 knowledge among residents in Ningbo.

Methods: A total of 6,336 residents aged 15-69 years in Ningbo were selected by multi-stage stratified random sampling method. The "Health Literacy Questionnaire of Chinese Citizens (2020)" was used to evaluate the relationship between COVID-19 knowledge and HL. Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

Results: The HL and COVID-19 knowledge levels of Ningbo residents were 24.8% and 15.7%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, people with adequate HL were the more likely to have adequate COVID-19 knowledge compared with those with limited HL (OR = 3.473, 95% CI = 2.974-4.057, P <0.001). Compared with the limited HL group, the adequate HL group had a higher rate of COVID-19 knowledge, a more positive attitude, and a more active behavior.

Conclusion: COVID-19 knowledge is significantly associated with HL. Improving HL may influence people's knowledge about COVID-19, thereby changing people's behaviors, and finally combating the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; attitude; behavior; health literacy; knowledge.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
China / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Health Behavior*
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Health Literacy* / standards
Health Literacy* / statistics & numerical data
Humans
Pandemics
Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This work was supported by funding from the Major Special Project of Science and Technology Innovation 2025 in Ningbo, Ningbo Municipal Emergency Science and Technology Major Project and funded by Ningbo Medical and Health Brand Discipline (Grants 2021Z021, 2022Z034, and PPXK2018–10).