Relationship between health literacy and COVID-19 knowledge: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Health literacy (HL) is a protective factor for some chronic diseases. However, its role in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not been clarified. This study aims to explore the association between HL and COVID-19 knowledge among residents in Ningbo. Methods: A total of 6,336 residents aged 15-69 years in Ningbo were selected by multi-stage stratified random sampling method. The "Health Literacy Questionnaire of Chinese Citizens (2020)" was used to evaluate the relationship between COVID-19 knowledge and HL. Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: The HL and COVID-19 knowledge levels of Ningbo residents were 24.8% and 15.7%, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, people with adequate HL were the more likely to have adequate COVID-19 knowledge compared with those with limited HL (OR = 3.473, 95% CI = 2.974-4.057, P <0.001). Compared with the limited HL group, the adequate HL group had a higher rate of COVID-19 knowledge, a more positive attitude, and a more active behavior. Conclusion: COVID-19 knowledge is significantly associated with HL. Improving HL may influence people's knowledge about COVID-19, thereby changing people's behaviors, and finally combating the pandemic.

Interactive Voice Response Service to Improve High School Students Covid-19 Literacy in Burkina Faso: A Usability Study.

Mobile technology is widely used in healthcare. However, designers and developers in many cases have focused on developing solutions that are often tailored to highly literate people. While the advent of the pandemic has called for people to seek and use Covid-19 related information to adapt their behaviors, it is relatively difficult for low literate to get easily access to health information through digital technologies. In this study, we present a Mobile based Interactive Voice Response service designed particularly for low-literate people which provides validated Covid-19 related health information in local African languages. We conducted a field study, among high school students, through a usability study to assess users' perception. The service received an excellent numerical usability score of 78.75.

Assessing adolescents' critical health literacy: How is trust in government leadership associated with knowledge of COVID-19?

This study explored relations between COVID-19 news source, trust in COVID-19 information source, and COVID-19 health literacy in 194 STEM-oriented adolescents and young adults from the US and the UK. Analyses suggest that adolescents use both traditional news (e.g., TV or newspapers) and social media news to acquire information about COVID-19 and have average levels of COVID-19 health literacy. Hierarchical linear regression analyses suggest that the association between traditional news media and COVID-19 health literacy depends on participants' level of trust in their government leader. For youth in both the US and the UK who used traditional media for information about COVID-19 and who have higher trust in their respective government leader (i.e., former US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson) had lower COVID-19 health literacy. Results highlight how youth are learning about the pandemic and the importance of not only considering their information source, but also their levels of trust in their government leaders.

Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess knowledge, attitude, practices, and concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccination among the general population.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There seems to be hesitation in the general population in accepting COVID 19 vaccine because of associated myths and/or misinformation. This study is dedicated to develop and validate a tool to interpret vaccine acceptance and/or hesitancy by assessing the knowledge, attitude, practices, and concerns regarding the COVID vaccine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Mixed methods study design was used. In phase 1, the questionnaire was developed through literature review, focus group discussion, expert evaluation, and pre-testing. In phase 2, the validity of the questionnaire was obtained by conducting a cross-sectional survey on 201 participants. The construct validity was established via principal component analysis. Cronbach's alpha value was used to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. RESULTS: The 39-item questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitude, practices, and concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccine was developed. The Cronbach's alpha value of the questionnaire was 0.86 suggesting a good internal consistency. CONCLUSION: The developed tool is valid to assess the knowledge, attitude, practices and concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and/or hesitancy. It has the potential utility for healthcare workers and government authorities to further build vaccine literacy.

COVID-19 and Psychological Disaster Preparedness - An Unmet Need.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a disaster of unprecedented proportions with global repercussions. Psychological preparedness, the primed cognitive awareness and anticipation of dealing with emotional responses in an adverse situation, has assumed a compelling relevance during a health disaster of this magnitude. METHODS: An anonymized eSurvey was conducted in India to assess psychological preparedness toward the ongoing pandemic with a focus on knowledge, management of own and others' emotional response, and anticipatory coping mechanisms among the survey population. An adapted version of the qualitative Psychological Preparedness for Natural Disaster Scale validated by the World Health Organization was widely circulated over the Internet and various social media platforms for assessment. Results are expressed as median ± standard deviation. Descriptive statistics were used and figures downloaded from surveymonkey.com. RESULTS: Of the 1120 respondents (M:F 1.7:1, age 35 years ±14.1), most expressed a high level of perceived knowledge and confidence of managing COVID-19, such as awareness of the symptoms of the illness (95.1%), actions needed (94.4%), hospital to report to (88.9%), and emergency contact number (89.1%). A majority (95%) monitored regularly the news bulletins and scientific journals regarding COVID-19. However, nearly one-third (29.2%) could not assess their likelihood of developing COVID-19, and 17.5% were unaware of the difference between a mild and severe infection. Twenty-three percent (23.3%) were unfamiliar with the materials needed in an acute illness situation. CONCLUSION: Psychological disaster preparedness is reasonable, although lacking in specific domains. Timely but focused interventions can be a cost-efficient administrative exercise, which federal agencies may prioritize working on.

Assessment of the Readability of Online Patient Education Material from Major Geriatric Associations.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: An increasing number of patients are using the internet to supplement information provided by medical professionals. Online geriatric patient education materials (PEMs) should be written at or below a 6th grade reading level (GRL) that takes into account barriers unique to the geriatric population. The objectives of the study are to assess PEMs of geriatric associations' websites and determine whether they are above the GRL recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health. DESIGN: Descriptive and correlational methodology. PEMs from 10 major geriatric associations were assessed for their GRL using 10 scales. Eight of the scales provide a numerical GRL while two of the scales provide a visual representation of the GRLs. Analysis was conducted using Readability Studio 2019.3. SETTING: Analysis was conducted February 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Identified 10 geriatric associations and 884 PEMs. MEASUREMENTS: GRLs were measured by 10 validated readability indices: the Degrees of Reading Power and Grade Equivalent test, Flesch-Kincaid grade level, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook test, Coleman-Liau Index, Gunning Fog Index, New Fog Count, New Dale-Chall readability formula, Ford, Caylor, Sticht scale, Raygor readability estimate graph, and Fry readability graph. RESULTS: The mean of all PEMs using the numerical scales was 11.1 ± 2.4. Ninety-nine percent of PEMs are above the 6th GRL. PEMs ranged from a grade 3.0 to 19.0 reading level. Analysis of variance demonstrated a significant difference between associations (P < .0001), and multiple comparison analysis identified the National Institute on Aging as the content easiest to read (9.5 ± 1.6). CONCLUSION: PEMs from geriatric association websites are written above the recommended 6th GRL. As patients increasingly look toward online supplementary health information during COVID-19, there is an opportunity for improving PEMs to enable greater comprehension by the target population.

Knowledge levels among elderly people with Diabetes Mellitus concerning COVID-19: an educational intervention via a teleservice.

AIM: To investigate knowledge levels concerning COVID-19 in elderly patients with T2DM. METHODS: This cross-sectional, quantitative, observational, and descriptive study was undertaken among elderly individuals with T2DM involved in a body balance rehabilitation program that had been suspended due to social isolation. The study participants comprised elderly individuals with T2DM, contactable using fixed or mobile telephones. Data concerning participants' socioeconomic variables and knowledge of COVID-19 were collated, using a Brazil Ministry of Health guidelines checklist. Mann-Whitney and Spearman's correlation tests were used to analyze their responses. RESULTS: Of 30 elderly participants, 76.7% were women and 63.3% were married. The average age was 69.96 ± 4.46 years. The most cited information medium was television (96.6%). Of a possible 24 correct responses on the checklist, the median correct response score was 7.5. No significant relationship was observed between the total checklist score and the variables studied. CONCLUSION: Elderly participants did not have in-depth knowledge concerning COVID-19, which suggests that their knowledge sources may be deficient or that their capacity to retain information was inadequate.

Public Health Communication in Time of Crisis: Readability of On-Line COVID-19 Information.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the readability of information on the Internet posted about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to determine how closely these materials are written to the recommended reading levels. METHODS: Using the search term "coronavirus," information posted on the first 100 English language websites was identified. Using an online readability calculator, multiple readability tests were conducted to ensure a comprehensive representation would result. RESULTS: The mean readability scores ranged between grade levels 6.2 and 17.8 (graduate school level). Four of the 5 measures (GFI, CLI, SMOG, FRE) found that readability exceeded the 10th grade reading level indicating that the text of these websites would be difficult for the average American to read. The mean reading level for nearly all noncommercial and commercial websites was at or above the 10th grade reading level. CONCLUSIONS: Messages about COVID-19 must be readable at an "easy" level, and must contain clear guidelines for behavior. The degree to which individuals seek information in response to risk messages is positively related to the expectation that the information will resolve uncertainty. However, if the information is too complex to interpret and it fails to lead to disambiguation, this can contribute to feelings of panic.