Health literacy and its influencing factors among middle school students in Guiyang city

Objective To examine the status quo and influencing factors of health literacy among middle school students in Guiyang city.Methods Using multistage stratified cluster sampling,we conducted a survey on health literacy among 3 295 junior and senior high school students in two districts of Guiyang municipality during May 2015 with modified Health Literacy Questionnaire for Chinese Residents-2014 designed by China Health Education Center.SPSS 20.0 was used in data analyses.Results Of the students,only 5.5% showed adequate health literacy.The highest ratio of adequate health literacy was for basic health skills (30.0%) and the lowest was for basic health knowledge and attitude (4.6%) among the students.For the 6 health literacy related items,the highest correct answer ratio was for safety and first aid (47.8%),while the lowest was for chronic disease prevention and control (10.4%).The results of univariate χ² test showed that residential region,with local registered residence,being only one child,whether having health lectures in school,parental education level,self-rated academic achievement,and the grade were significant impact factors of health literacy (P<0.01 for all); multivariate logistic analysis revealed that the health literacy of the students was influenced by residential region,parental education level,self-rated academic achievement,whether having health lectures in school,and grade.Conclusion The health literacy is at a low level and the level is mainly influenced by parental education level,academic achievement,study grade,and whether having health related lectures in school among middle school students in Guiyang city.