Factors Associated With Limited Cancer Health Literacy Among Chinese People: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Literacy Research
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Limited cancer health literacy is a significant issue in China, with contributing factors not yet fully understood.
• Identifying individuals with poor cancer health literacy is crucial for effective public health interventions.
• There is a pressing need to investigate factors associated with low cancer health literacy in the Chinese population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors associated with limited cancer health literacy in China.
• To utilize the 6-Item Cancer Health Literacy Test (CHLT-6) for assessment.
• To provide data for developing targeted health education strategies.

Main Methods:

• Categorized participants based on CHLT-6 scores: ≤3 correct answers indicated limited cancer health literacy.
• Employed logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of limited cancer health literacy.
• Analyzed data from Chinese study participants.

Main Results:

• Logistic regression identified 8 key predictors of limited cancer health literacy.
• Predictors include male gender, low education, age, high self-assessed general disease knowledge, low digital health literacy, limited communicative health literacy, low general health numeracy, and high mistrust in health authorities.
• These factors significantly correlate with poor cancer health literacy.

Conclusions:

• Successfully identified 8 factors predicting limited cancer health literacy in Chinese populations.
• Findings have clinical implications for designing targeted health education programs.
• Recommendations include aligning educational resources with the actual skill levels of individuals with limited cancer health literacy.