Middle-aged and elderly health literacy: A cross-sectional exploration

Abstract

This study investigates the key factors influencing health literacy among middle-aged and elderly adults in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. The study aimed to explore health literacy among older adults as well as to evaluate the factors that influence health literacy among them. The factors investigated include gender, age, race, education level, self-rated health status, self-rated financial status, and self-rated self-esteem. The data was gathered from a group of middle-aged and elderly individuals, aged 45 and older, living in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. The sample of this study consisted of 456 respondents. The binary logistic regression analysis was conducted, and the results of this study indicated that among seven predictor variables, there were two significant factors influencing health literacy, which were age (p-value = 0.000) and self-rated self-esteem (p-value = 0.000). These findings highlight how crucial both influential factors were in affecting the health literacy of the targeted population. The study also contributed to closing the knowledge gap in the research study on health literacy generally in Malaysia, besides raising awareness and insights on the importance of health literacy among middle-aged and elderly people in Negeri Sembilan.