Health Literacy in the General Population in Belgium

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

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

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Health Literacy

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 2535

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Liege, Belgium, B-4000
    • University Hospital of Liege
  • Liège, Belgium, 4000
    • University of Liege

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Adults affiliated to Solidaris

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years old or more
• Affiliated to Solidaris (health mutual), with a valid phone number
• Consent to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

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

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Liege
• Collaborators: Solidaris

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 1, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 23, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 18, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): June 19, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 24, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 23, 2019
• Last Verified: April 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Health literacy
• Other Study ID Numbers: HL-Solidaris

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No