Health literacy and its influencing factors among residents aged 60-69 years in Jiangsu province

Objective To examine the status quo and influencing factors of health literacy among 60-69 years old residents in Jiangsu province and to provide evidences for making health promotion-related policies for the elderly.Methods Multistage random sampling and probability proportional to size (PPS)sampling were used to select 14 622 residents aged 15-69 years form 26 disease surveillance sites in Jiangsu province for a questionnaire survey on health literacy from September to October 2013.Then the data on 2 403 residents at ages of 60-69 years were extracted and analyzed in the study.Results Of the 2 403 elderly,only 7.5%reported health literacy and 12.7%,6.3%,and 10.0% reported basic health knowledge and concepts,healthy lifestyle and behavior,and health skills,respectively.Among the elderly residents,30.0%reported health literacy for safety and first aid,27.0%for scientific health conception,11.6%for relevant information acquisition,10.2%for infectious disease prevention,8.4%for chronic disease prevention,and 3.9%for fundamental medication,respectively.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that with the family member of ≥4 was a hindering factor and with the education of junior high school or higher and with average annual family income of ≥6 000 RMB yuan were promoting factors of health literacy among the elderly residents.Conclusion The health literacy is at a relatively low level and mainly influenced by education,family size,and average annual household income among the elderly residents in Jiangsu province.