ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: investigate the influence of health literacy on the assessment of COVID-19 threat to health and the intention not to be vaccinated among Brazilian adolescents. METHOD: cross-sectional study with 526 Brazilian adolescents aged 14 to 19 years. Socioeconomic aspects, health-disease profile, health literacy, health threat by COVID-19 and intention not to be vaccinated were analyzed by bivariate association and multiple linear regression with Poisson response. RESULTS: higher health literacy score (p=0.010), cardiovascular disease (p=0.006), lower income (p=0.000), and living in the North region (p=0.007) were factors that contributed to feeling more threatened by COVID-19. Health literacy did not influence the intention not to be vaccinated (p=0.091), whose prevalence was lower among adolescents in the Southeast region when compared to those in the North region (p=0.010), among those who attended higher education (p=0,049) and those with higher income (p=0.000). CONCLUSION: health literacy influenced the perception of COVID-19 threat, but not the intention not to be vaccinated. Assessment of COVID-19 threat to health and prevalence of the intention not to be vaccinated were influenced by the region of residence, income, and education, which reinforces the importance of social determinants of health in this context. KEYPOINTS: (1) Average health literacy (HL) score of Brazilian adolescents: 25.3 (p-HLAT-8). (2) Adolescents in the Southeast region felt less threatened by COVID-19. (3) Higher HL score indicated adolescents felt more threatened by COVID-19. (4) Intention not to be vaccinated was observed among adolescents with higher income and education. (5) About 87% of Brazilian adolescents want to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Health Literacy , Adolescent , Humans , Brazil/epidemiology , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Intention , Cross-Sectional Studies , Surveys and Questionnaires , VaccinationABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: to analyze the scientific production on health literacy (HL) of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: an integrative review, in the MEDLINE, LILACS, CINAHL and Web of Science databases, between March 2020 and August 2021. Original articles in English, Spanish and Portuguese were included. RESULTS: of the 65 studies found in the search, eight were included for analysis, with no publication in Brazil, with five publications in 2021, predominantly in English (n=7) and all classified with level of evidence VI. Of the instruments used, eHealth literacy was the most applied instrument (n=2). Television, family and the internet were identified as the main sources of health information during the pandemic. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: the literature has indicated that HL can interfere with adolescents' decision making and that a low HL can lead to decisions and physical and mental exposure actions of adolescents.