손연정1, 김소담1, 장희정1, 윤예림1, 김혜미1, 박지인1, 김선희2

1순천향대학교 의과대학 간호학과, 2고려대학교 간호대학

costs and the health status of adults. The purposes of this study were to determine the level of health literacy in community-dwelling adults and to identify the factors influencing it.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Chungcheong province. A total of 420 adults aged 18 or older were interviewed by trained nursing students between November 1 to December 30, 2011. Health literacy was measured using the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. Data were analyzed using the PASW 18.0 program.
Results: The mean score of health literacy was 50.64±19.18. In the multiple linear regression analysis, health literacy was significantly associated with education (ß=0.17, P=0.001), alcohol use (ß=-0.12, P=0.010), and perceived health status (ß=0.11, P=0.029). These factors accounted for about 7% of health literacy.
Conclusions: Health literacy is a very important public health issue. Our findings showed that educational level, alcohol use and perceived health status should be considered when assessing this issue in patients. Furthermore, the development of a standardized Korean assessment tool for health literacy and specified interventions for enhancing health literacy are needed to improve health outcomes.

Korean J Health Promot 2012;12(2):100-108

Keywords: Adult, Health literacy, Community, Primary prevention