Health literacy supports active aging
Year of publication
2021
Authors
Eronen, Johanna; Paakkari, Leena; Portegijs, Erja; Saajanaho, Milla; Rantanen, Taina
Abstract
From the individual viewpoint, active aging refers to the ability of older persons, depending on their goals, functional capacity and opportunities, to engage in desired activities. This study investigated the role of health literacy in active aging among persons differing in their number of chronic conditions. Data were collected from 948 individuals, 57% women, aged 75, 80 and 85 in 2017–2018 in the city of Jyväskylä in Central Finland. Health literacy was assessed with the 16-question version of the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU-Q16), active aging with the University of Jyväskylä Active Aging Scale (UJACAS) and self-reported physician-diagnosed chronic conditions. Both health literacy (r = 0.40) and number of chronic conditions (r = −0.21) correlated with the active aging score. Linear regression models revealed that health literacy was a stronger predictor than chronic conditions of active aging (β 0.18, p < 0.001 vs. β −0.06, p = 0.030) and that its predictive value remained statistically significant after adjustment for cognitive capacity, number of depressive symptoms, physical performance and length of education. Higher health literacy can enable older persons, including those with multiple chronic conditions, to maintain higher levels of active aging. As more people are projected to live with chronic conditions to older ages, health literacy may help them to cope with illnesses and functional limitations and lead a fulfilling life. These cross-sectional findings lay a foundation for future prospective and experimental studies on health literacy and active aging.
Show moreOrganizations and authors
Publication type
Publication format
Article
Parent publication type
Journal
Article type
Original article
Audience
ScientificPeer-reviewed
Peer-ReviewedMINEDU's publication type classification code
A1 Journal article (refereed), original researchPublication channel information
Journal
Publisher
Volume
143
Article number
106330
ISSN
Publication forum
Publication forum level
2
Open access
Open access in the publisher’s service
No
Self-archived
Yes
Other information
Fields of science
Health care science; Public health care science, environmental and occupational health
Keywords
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Publication country
Netherlands
Internationality of the publisher
International
Language
English
International co-publication
No
Co-publication with a company
No
DOI
10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106330
The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection
Yes