IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i2p671-d311114.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Health Literacy is Associated with Health Behaviors in Students from Vocational Education and Training Schools: A Danish Population-Based Survey

Author

Listed:
  • Charlotte Demant Klinker

    (Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Health Promotion, Niels Steensens vej 6, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark)

  • Anna Aaby

    (Department of Public Health, Bartholins Alle 2, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark)

  • Lene Winther Ringgaard

    (Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Health Promotion, Niels Steensens vej 6, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark)

  • Anneke Vang Hjort

    (Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Health Promotion, Niels Steensens vej 6, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark)

  • Melanie Hawkins

    (School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia)

  • Helle Terkildsen Maindal

    (Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Health Promotion, Niels Steensens vej 6, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark
    Department of Public Health, Bartholins Alle 2, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark)

Abstract

Health literacy has been identified as an important and changeable intermediary determinant of health equity. Vocational education and training (VET) schools are a relevant setting for health behavior interventions seeking to diminish health inequities because many VET students come from low socio-economic status backgrounds. This study examines VET students’ health literacy and its association with health behavior based on a cross-sectional survey among 6119 students from 58 VET schools in Denmark in 2019. Two scales from the Health Literacy Questionnaire was used to assess domains of health literacy. Data were analyzed using Anova and logistic regression. The study population consisted of 43.4% female, and mean age was 24.2 years (range 15.8–64.0). The health literacy domain ‘Actively managing my health’ mean was 2.51, SD 0.66, and ‘Appraisal of health information’ mean was 2.37, SD 0.65. For both domains, being female, older age, attending the VET educational program Care-health-pedagogy, and higher self-rated health were associated with higher scale scores. In the adjusted analyses, lower scale scores were associated with less frequent breakfast, daily smoking, high-risk alcohol behavior and moderate-to-low physical activity. Our results show that low health literacy is associated with unhealthy behaviors in this population. Our results support and inform health literacy research and practice in educational institutions and services.

Suggested Citation

  • Charlotte Demant Klinker & Anna Aaby & Lene Winther Ringgaard & Anneke Vang Hjort & Melanie Hawkins & Helle Terkildsen Maindal, 2020. "Health Literacy is Associated with Health Behaviors in Students from Vocational Education and Training Schools: A Danish Population-Based Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-13, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:2:p:671-:d:311114
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/2/671/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/2/671/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. C. Juneau & T. Benmarhnia & A. Poulin & S. Côté & L. Potvin, 2015. "Socioeconomic position during childhood and physical activity during adulthood: a systematic review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 60(7), pages 799-813, November.
    2. Claudia König & Mette V. Skriver & Kim M. Iburg & Gillian Rowlands, 2018. "Understanding Educational and Psychosocial Factors Associated with Alcohol Use among Adolescents in Denmark; Implications for Health Literacy Interventions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-13, August.
    3. Jany Rademakers & Monique Heijmans, 2018. "Beyond Reading and Understanding: Health Literacy as the Capacity to Act," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-12, August.
    4. Nutbeam, Don, 2008. "The evolving concept of health literacy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(12), pages 2072-2078, December.
    5. Peter Kolarcik & Eva Cepova & Andrea Madarasova Geckova & Gerald R. Elsworth & Roy W. Batterham & Richard H. Osborne, 2017. "Structural properties and psychometric improvements of the Health Literacy Questionnaire in a Slovak population," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(5), pages 591-604, June.
    6. Petra Dermota & Jen Wang & Michelle Dey & Gerhard Gmel & Joseph Studer & Meichun Mohler-Kuo, 2013. "Health literacy and substance use in young Swiss men," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(6), pages 939-948, December.
    7. René Rüegg & Thomas Abel, 2019. "The relationship between health literacy and health outcomes among male young adults: exploring confounding effects using decomposition analysis," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(4), pages 535-545, May.
    8. Andersen, Susan & Rod, Morten Hulvej & Ersbøll, Annette Kjær & Stock, Christiane & Johansen, Christoffer & Holmberg, Teresa & Zinckernagel, Line & Ingholt, Liselotte & Sørensen, Betina Bang & Tolstrup, 2016. "Effects of a settings-based intervention to promote student wellbeing and reduce smoking in vocational schools: A non-randomized controlled study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 195-203.
    9. Anginer, Deniz & de la Torre, Augusto & Ize, Alain, 2011. "Risk absorption by the state: when is it good public policy ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5893, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chung-Chih Lin & Pang-Hsiang Yu & Jin-Kwan Lin, 2022. "Prompts for the Future to Live Healthier: A Study of Cognition and Motivation for Healthy Behaviors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-10, May.
    2. Junaidi Budi Prihanto & Faridha Nurhayati & Endang Sri Wahjuni & Ryota Matsuyama & Miwako Tsunematsu & Masayuki Kakehashi, 2021. "Health Literacy and Health Behavior: Associated Factors in Surabaya High School Students, Indonesia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-20, July.
    3. Anneke Vang Hjort & Mirte A. G. Kuipers & Maria Stage & Charlotta Pisinger & Charlotte Demant Klinker, 2022. "Intervention Activities Associated with the Implementation of a Comprehensive School Tobacco Policy at Danish Vocational Schools: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Tetine Sentell & Sandra Vamos & Orkan Okan, 2020. "Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Health Literacy Research Around the World: More Important Than Ever in a Time of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Bent E. Mikkelsen & Annette Q. Romani & Maria P. Brandão, 2021. "Do Crowding-Out Effects Explain the Low Effect of a Health Promotion Intervention among Young People at a Vocational School?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Henrietta Bánfai-Csonka & Bálint Bánfai & Sára Jeges & József Betlehem, 2022. "Understanding Health Literacy among University Health Science Students of Different Nationalities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-13, September.
    7. Dorota Kleszczewska & Joanna Mazur & Katarzyna Porwit & Anna Kowalewska, 2022. "Who Is Able to Resist What Is Forbidden?—The Relationship between Health Literacy and Risk Behaviours in Secondary School Students in the Broader Social and Educational Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-16, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Don Nutbeam & Diane Levin-Zamir & Gill Rowlands, 2018. "Health Literacy in Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-3, November.
    2. Sabine Ackermann Rau & Sibel Sakarya & Thomas Abel, 2014. "When to see a doctor for common health problems: distribution patterns of functional health literacy across migrant populations in Switzerland," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 59(6), pages 967-974, December.
    3. Ivana Skoumalova & Peter Kolarcik & Andrea Madarasova Geckova & Jaroslav Rosenberger & Maria Majernikova & Daniel Klein & Jitse P. van Dijk & Sijmen A. Reijneveld, 2019. "Is Health Literacy of Dialyzed Patients Related to Their Adherence to Dietary and Fluid Intake Recommendations?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-10, November.
    4. Leena Paakkari & Minna Torppa & Joanna Mazur & Zuzana Boberova & Gorden Sudeck & Michal Kalman & Olli Paakkari, 2020. "A Comparative Study on Adolescents’ Health Literacy in Europe: Findings from the HBSC Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-12, May.
    5. Junaidi Budi Prihanto & Faridha Nurhayati & Endang Sri Wahjuni & Ryota Matsuyama & Miwako Tsunematsu & Masayuki Kakehashi, 2021. "Health Literacy and Health Behavior: Associated Factors in Surabaya High School Students, Indonesia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-20, July.
    6. Francesca Gallè & Patrizia Calella & Christian Napoli & Fabrizio Liguori & Eduardo Alfonso Parisi & Giovanni Battista Orsi & Giorgio Liguori & Giuliana Valerio, 2020. "Are Health Literacy and Lifestyle of Undergraduates Related to the Educational Field? An Italian Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-9, September.
    7. Sandra Vamos & Orkan Okan & Tetine Sentell & Irving Rootman, 2020. "Making a Case for “Education for Health Literacy”: An International Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-18, February.
    8. Maricel G. Santos & Anu L. Gorukanti & Lina M. Jurkunas & Margaret A. Handley, 2018. "The Health Literacy of U.S. Immigrant Adolescents: A Neglected Research Priority in a Changing World," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, September.
    9. Chiao Ling Huang & Shu-Ching Yang & Chia-Hsun Chiang, 2020. "The Associations between Individual Factors, eHealth Literacy, and Health Behaviors among College Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-13, March.
    10. Yuji Kanejima & Kazuhiro P. Izawa & Masahiro Kitamura & Kodai Ishihara & Asami Ogura & Ikko Kubo & Hitomi Nagashima & Hideto Tawa & Daisuke Matsumoto & Ikki Shimizu, 2022. "Health Literacy Is Associated with Activities of Daily Living of Patients Participating in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Multicenter Clinical Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Silvia Timková & Tatiana Klamárová & Eva Kovaľová & Bohuslav Novák & Peter Kolarčik & Andrea Madarasová Gecková, 2020. "Health Literacy Associations with Periodontal Disease among Slovak Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-12, March.
    12. Setti Rais Ali & Paul Dourgnon & Lise Rochaix, 2018. "Social Capital or Education: What Matters Most to Cut Time to Diagnosis?," Working Papers halshs-01703170, HAL.
    13. Samuel G Smith & Laura M Curtis & Jane Wardle & Christian von Wagner & Michael S Wolf, 2013. "Skill Set or Mind Set? Associations between Health Literacy, Patient Activation and Health," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-7, September.
    14. Ying Wu & Lu Wang & Zhongyuan Cai & Luqi Bao & Pu Ai & Zisheng Ai, 2017. "Prevalence and Risk Factors of Low Health Literacy: A Community-Based Study in Shanghai, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-10, June.
    15. Ivana Skoumalova & Andrea Madarasova Geckova & Jaroslav Rosenberger & Maria Majernikova & Peter Kolarcik & Daniel Klein & Andrea F. de Winter & Jitse P. van Dijk & Sijmen A. Reijneveld, 2020. "Does Depression and Anxiety Mediate the Relation between Limited Health Literacy and Diet Non-Adherence?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-10, October.
    16. Mitja Vrdelja & Sanja Vrbovšek & Vito Klopčič & Kevin Dadaczynski & Orkan Okan, 2021. "Facing the Growing COVID-19 Infodemic: Digital Health Literacy and Information-Seeking Behaviour of University Students in Slovenia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-16, August.
    17. Patrizio Zanobini & Chiara Lorini & Alberto Baldasseroni & Claudia Dellisanti & Guglielmo Bonaccorsi, 2020. "A Scoping Review on How to Make Hospitals Health Literate Healthcare Organizations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-16, February.
    18. Michael Schreuders & Loekie Klompmaker & Bas van den Putte & Anton E Kunst, 2019. "Adolescent Smoking in Secondary Schools that Have Implemented Smoke-Free Policies: In-Depth Exploration of Shared Smoking Patterns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-13, June.
    19. Lena V Nordheim & Malene W Gundersen & Birgitte Espehaug & Øystein Guttersrud & Signe Flottorp, 2016. "Effects of School-Based Educational Interventions for Enhancing Adolescents Abilities in Critical Appraisal of Health Claims: A Systematic Review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-21, August.
    20. Yoon K Loke & Ina Hinz & Xia Wang & Gill Rowlands & David Scott & Charlotte Salter, 2012. "Impact of Health Literacy in Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Disease–Systematic Review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-8, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:2:p:671-:d:311114. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.