Health literacy and health-promoting behaviors among multiethnic groups of women in Taiwan

Objective: To understand the current status of health literacy and the relationship between health literacy and health-promoting behaviors among multiethnic groups of women in Taiwan.

Design: Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit study participants. Data were collected using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

Setting: We recruited community female adults who lived in greater Taipei or Taoyuan areas (northern Taiwan) from January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011.

Participants: A total of 378 female participants were contacted, of which 351 consented to participate and 347 completed valid questionnaires for analysis.

Methods: Health literacy was measured with the Taiwan Health Literacy Scale, and health-promoting behaviors were measured by the Chinese version of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile.

Results: Participants had a moderate level of health literacy, and one third of them had inadequate health literacy. Participants with inadequate health literacy were more likely to be younger, not a high school graduate, and Vietnamese; to have a low monthly family income and no diagnosed diseases; to use a second language; and to regard TV/radio as the most useful source of health information. Health literacy alone could significantly predict health-promoting behaviors among the participants.

Conclusions: Our findings confirmed that low health literacy is prevalent among underprivileged women in Taiwan. Health-related programs that are literacy sensitive and culturally appropriate are needed to teach and encourage health-promoting behaviors.