Health literacy and some socio-demographic aspects under one health approach in eastern Tanzania: connections and realities

Abstract

Health Literacy significantly contributes towards attaining good health particularly when taken into the context of the interface of humans, animals and the environment. This cross-sectional study assessed health literacy and its connections to other socio-demographic aspects under One Health Approach in Morogoro municipality and Mvomero districts in Tanzania. A structured questionnaire administered through a Computer Aided Personal Interviewing (CAPI) electronic platform was used to collect data from 240 respondents obtained through a multistage sampling procedure. Health Literacy was assessed using context specific assessment tool. IBM-SPSS v20 and Gretl software were used to analyze data. The results revealed Inadequate Health Literacy at 36.3%, Moderate Health Literacy at 30.8% and Adequate Health Literacy standing at 32.9%. There was no association between educational attainment and the level of Health Literacy revealed. Health Literacy was lower among older individuals, with 40.2% of those who had Inadequate Health Literacy were from the elderly age category, more females (56.3%) had Inadequate Health Literacy than males (43.7%), Adequate Health Literacy was observed among married respondents at 65.8% in the category. Health literacy varies across some socio-demographic aspects. It therefore remains imperative that interventions in scale up health literacy by various stakeholders to consider these socio-demographic aspects.