Developing a measure of communicative and critical health literacy: a pilot study of Japanese office workers

TLDR

Health literacy, the ability to find and use health information, has become increasingly important for maintaining health amid growing media and internet use. The study aimed to evaluate a brief measure of communicative and critical health literacy among Japanese office workers to assess its suitability for workplace health promotion. A cross‑sectional survey of 190 male office workers at a Japanese company used a self‑administered questionnaire during annual health checkups to assess health literacy, health behaviors, stress coping, and somatic symptoms. Higher health‑literacy scores were associated with healthier eating, regular exercise, lower smoking rates, proactive stress coping, and fewer somatic symptoms, supporting the scale’s validity. Further research on health literacy is needed to explore its extent and impact on health outcomes.

Abstract

With the increase in media reports and rapid diffusion of the Internet, the skills in finding and utilizing health information (health literacy; HL) are becoming important in maintaining and promoting health. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of a brief measure to assess major components of communicative and critical HL among Japanese office workers, in order to consider its applicability to health promotion at workplace. The participants were 190 male office workers at a Japanese company. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed at the annual health checkup, in which HL, health-related behaviors and coping with job stress were asked. Also, the number of somatic symptoms reported by the worker was counted out of the eight symptoms in the health checkup questionnaire. The higher HL group was more likely to have regular eating patterns and exercise weekly, and tended to be a never smoker. In coping with job stress, those with higher HL were more likely to actively solve the problems or seek support from others, whereas those with lower HL were more likely to be resigned to the situation. Further, lower HL group reported significantly greater number of somatic symptoms than higher HL group. These findings were generally as hypothesized, supporting the validity of the HL scale among office workers. Further research on HL is needed to explore the extent and impact of HL on health outcomes.