Predictors of COVID-19 Related Health Literacy among Older People Living in Rural Areas of Indonesia

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify predictive factors of COVID-19-related health literacy (HL) among older adults living in rural areas. METHOD: This study used a cross-sectional design. A total of 106 respondents participated in this study. HL was measured by using a questionnaire modified from the HLS-COVID-Q22, in addition, the scales ‘Health Information Seeking’, ‘Family’s Social Support Scale’, ‘Health Service Utilization’; and information on some socio-demographic variables was also obtained. A multiple linear regression model was used to identify the predictors of HL. RESULTS: About two-thirds of the respondents had a moderate level of HL (63.2%). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that education level, family support, information source, and gender were significant predictors for HL (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: HL literacy was better among males, highly educated older people, media users, and those with adequate family support. This study provided insight for nurses and healthcare professionals to pay greater attention to vulnerable groups of older people (ie. female gender and those with less formal education) as well as involve family members in education or health promotion activities and use easily accessed media, such as television and radio.