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Background The consumption of health-related products has been increasing continuously. Information on health-related products can make it difficult for some people with limited health literacy to use. This study investigated the extent to which health literacy competencies in the aspect of consumer protection related to demographic and socio-economic factors, using data from the Thai Health Literacy Survey (THL-S) among Thai citizens aged 15 years and above (2019). Methods The THL-S used a stratified three-stage-sampling to draw a sample of Thais aged 15 years and above. Participants were interviewed with a questionnaire of 34 items measuring health literacy and 8 items measuring behavioural practices. Proportions of responses (the 6-Likert scales) in accessing, understanding, communicating and making decisions related to the consumer protection aspect were performed. Logistic regression models were used to explore the association between health literacy competencies and participant’s socioeconomic, demographic, health and social characteristics.Results Levels of difficulties in the consumer protection aspect varied among health competencies, with the most difficult in communicating and the least difficult in understanding. Half of Thais (around 42%) felt difficult to ask for information from healthcare providers. One-third of Thais (38%) experienced difficulties in accessing reliable information about medicine, cosmetic products, herbal products and food supplements. Participants who had a lower level of education, cannot read, did not have health screenings, were living in poverty, did not hold leading roles in the community, were male, had hearing impairment, or were at an older age, experienced more difficulties in practising health literacy competencies.Conclusions Vulnerable consumers face significant barriers in accessing, understanding, communicating and making decisions in the consumer protection aspect. Health literacy programs that aim to build competencies and empower vulnerable consumers should be developed. There is also a need to adapt current information on health related products to be as clear an accessible as possible but reliable to meet health literacy needs. |
