Health literacy strengths and limitations among rural fishing communities in Egypt using the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ)

INTRODUCTION: Health literacy is an important determinant of health. The aim of this study was to use a multi-dimensional measurement tool to describe the health literacy of people living in a fishing community in northern Egypt. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Data were collected from 436 people (fisherman and their families), using the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ), which includes 9 scales. Effect sizes (ES) for standardized mean differences estimated the magnitude of difference between demographic groups. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 42 years, 50% were male, 42% were working in the fishing sector, 17.9% had access to the Internet and 36.8% were illiterate. Male participants showed higher capabilities in scales 3. Actively managing my health and 4. Social support for health (ES = 0.21 and 0.27, respectively). In comparison to other occupations, fishing occupation had a negative impact on scale 7. Navigating the healthcare system (ES -0.23). Also, higher educational level was associated with higher HLQ indicators. Across all scales, scale 2. Having sufficient information to manage my health showed the lowest mean (SD) score; 2.23 (0.76) indicating that most people reported they didn’t have enough information. CONCLUSIONS: This study has revealed that fishermen and their families have a wide range of health literacy difficulties which are likely to have profound negative effects on health behavior and health outcomes.