Abstract
Objectives: Health literacy is often viewed as an essential skill set for successfully seeking health information to make health-related decisions. However, this general understanding has yet to be established with the use of nationally representative data. The objective of this study was to provide the first nationally representative empirical evidence that links health information seeking behaviors with health literacy among middle-age to older adults in the United States. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2012/2014 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Literacy (PIAAC). Our analytic sample is representative of adults age 45 to 74 years (N = 2,989). Results: Distinct components of health literacy (i.e., literacy and numeracy) were uniquely associated with the use of different health information sources (e.g., health professionals, the Internet, television). Discussion: Findings should be useful for government agencies and health care providers interested in targeting health communications, as well as researchers who focus on health disparities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 33-41 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Aging and Health |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2018.
Funding
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The research reported here was partially supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A170183 to Miami University and University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the institute or the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, this research was partially funded by the American Institutes for Research through a contract with the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Education, OSERS | R305A170183 |
| U.S. Department of Education, OSERS | |
| American Institutes for Research | |
| Institute of Education Sciences | |
| University of Maryland, Baltimore County | |
| Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Miami |
Keywords
- health behaviors
- health literacy
- life course
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Life-span and Life-course Studies