Health literacy and some socio-demographic aspects under one health approach in eastern Tanzania: connections and realities
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Date
2018-05-25
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Scholink INC
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.
Description
Article published in a journal titled: Urban Studies and Public Administration
Vol. 1, No. 1, 2018
Keywords
health literacy, socio-demographic aspects, health behaviour, one health approach