Health Literacy of Newly-Admitted Cancer Patients in Vietnam: Difficulties Understanding Treatment Options and Processing Health-Related Information

Autor: Le Dai Minh, Bui Vinh Quang, Duong Ngoc Le Mai, Le Le Quyen, Nguyen Hoang Gia, Nguyen Thanh Hang, Kim Bao Giang
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Health Services Insights, Vol 15 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1178-6329
11786329
DOI: 10.1177/11786329211067325
Popis: Having a good understanding of cancer patients’ health literacy in the early stage of diagnosis can help to implement strategies to improve the management process and overall health outcomes. The study aims to describe health literacy and its association with socio-demographic characteristics among newly admitted cancer patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 262 newly admitted patients of a cancer hospital in Vietnam using the Vietnamese version of the HLS-SF12 questionnaire. Descriptive analytics and regression analysis were used to describe health literacy and examine associated factors. Older age, lower level of education, and living in rural areas were associated with lower health literacy while there was no significant relationship between gender and health literacy among newly admitted cancer patients. Many newly admitted patients, especially the older patients have difficulties understanding the different treatment options (54%) and evaluating the reliability of health information on the internet (43%). During the early stage of treatment, strategies should be implemented with regards to patients’ health literacy, to properly educate patients and their caregivers to improve communication, adherence to medication, lifestyle, and overall better quality of life and treatment outcome.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals