Health Literacy in the General Population in Belgium

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aims of the study are: To measure health literacy (HL) levels in a sample composed of members of a health mutual (Solidaris), and its potential associations with several determinants (health, health services consumption, health behaviours...) To identify potential groups at risk of a lower HL To identify the determinants of HL level

Official Title
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Health Literacy in the General Population in Belgium: Associations and Determinants

Conditions
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Health Literacy

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 18 years old or more Affiliated to Solidaris (health mutual), with a valid phone number Consent to participate Exclusion Criteria: None

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Health Literacy | The degree to which individuals can obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. It also includes the cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health. It is measured by the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) (Osborne et al., 2013), composed of 44 items (9 dimensions). | At the inclusion in the study | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| General health | Measured with the EQ-5D-5L (EuroQol Group, 1990), divided into 2 parts. The first part is composed of 5 items investigating 5 dimensions (mobility, autonomy, daily activities, pain, and anxiety and depression). | At the inclusion in the study | 
| General health | Measured with the EQ-5D-5L (EuroQol Group, 1990), divided into 2 parts: the second part is composed of 1 Visual Analogue Scale (VAS, from 0 to 100), investigating the perceived health. | At the inclusion in the study | 
| Chronic illnesses | Questions about the presence of chronic illness(es) are asked, along with their duration. | At the inclusion in the study | 
| Body Mass Index | Calculated with the standard formula (weight/height²) | At the inclusion in the study | 
| Feeling of stigma associated with the chronic illness | Measured with the Stigma Scale for Chronic Illnesses (Molina et al., 2013), which assesses enacted and internalised stigma. It is composed of 8 items. The responses for each item can be: 1 = Never, 2 = Rarely, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Often, and 5 = Always. The raw summed score range is 8-40, with a higher score indicating a higher perceived stigma. Raw scores are then transformed into T-scores (a result of rescaling raw scores into standardized scores with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10). | At the inclusion in the study | 
| Satisfaction about health services | Investigation of the participant's satisfaction about hospitals, dentists, specialised physician, general practitioners, home care and Solidaris, through 6 questions ranging from 1 (very unsatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied). | At the inclusion in the study | 
| Consumption behaviors | Tobacco, alcohol, fruits and vegetables consumption are investigated through 5 questions: do you smoke ? / If yes, what do you smoke? / How often do you drink alcohol? / How often do you eat fruits? / How often do you eat vegetables? | At the inclusion in the study | 
| Physical activity | Investigated through 2 questions: during the last 7 days, how many days did you practice intense physical activity? / during the last 7 days, how many days did you practice moderate physical activity? For each question, answers range from 0 to 7. | At the inclusion in the study | 
| Use of the Internet for health purposes | Investigated through 1 question: how often do you use the Internet to search information about your health?. Answers range from 1 (never) to 5 (always). | At the inclusion in the study | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Health literacy