The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on anxiety, health literacy, and eHealth literacy in 2020 related to healthcare behavior in Thailand 10.55131/jphd/2022/200115

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Published: Jan 31, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55131/jphd/2022/200115
Keywords:
COVID-19 eHealth literacy new normal health care behavior SEM

Main Article Content

Passakorn Suanrueang
Department of Healthcare Administration Specialty in Psychology,College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan
Mein-Woei Suen
Department of Psychology, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan
Hsiao-Fang Lin
Department and graduate institute of early childhood development and education, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taiwan
Tze-Kiong Er
Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Asia University, Taiwan
Maria Michaela Quilang Jamora
Department of Psychology, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan

Abstract

Individual’s decision to cooperate with disease prevention varies based on their respective health beliefs and common factors that motivate actions. Previous research has found that pandemic anxiety, high health literacy, and eHealth literacy influenced healthcare behavior. Understanding how the pandemic affects people on modifying preventive health behavior is promising. Accordingly, this cross-sectional study focusing on health behavior utilized Structural Equation Modeling to characterize causative factors of anxiety, health literacy, eHealth literature, and protection in the new normal of COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand. Online surveys used a snowball sampling method through social media to recruit participants aged over 20 years in 8 provinces in Thailand. iGeneration and millennials were the top two, making up 75.0% of the 700-respondents in total. Independent variables: Health Literacy (p = .030); eHealth Literacy (p < .001); and anxiety (p = .040) significantly influenced the new normal. The new normal practices: hand hygiene, wearing hygienic masks and social distancing, maintaining good health, and preventing virus exposure by making digital payments could be indicated by 34% of Thai people by all those independent variables. This means that those who are more concerned and literate about health literacy and eHealth literacy, will make better health decisions and practice more preventive health care. Individuals may use health knowledge to make healthy decisions to protect themselves from the current pandemic. They can also use what they have learned to defend themselves from other emerging infectious illnesses in the future. Therefore, official institutions should provide helpful and timely health information that is easily accessible. Public health interventions should prioritize the availability of health information in the electronic form on various social media platforms to educate people to protect themselves from the spread of disease. The information should be comprehensible and practical for all socioeconomic groups.

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Suanrueang P, Suen M-W, Lin H-F, Er T-K, Michaela Quilang Jamora M. The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on anxiety, health literacy, and eHealth literacy in 2020 related to healthcare behavior in Thailand: 10.55131/jphd/2022/200115. J Public Hlth Dev [Internet]. 2022 Jan. 31 [cited 2024 Dec. 22];20(1):188-202. Available from: https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/AIHD-MU/article/view/254515
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Vol. 20 No. 1 (2022): January-April
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Original Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Passakorn Suanrueang, Department of Healthcare Administration Specialty in Psychology,College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan

Department of Healthcare Administration Specialty in Psychology,College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan

Mein-Woei Suen, Department of Psychology, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan

Department of  Psychology, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan

Hsiao-Fang Lin, Department and graduate institute of early childhood development and education, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taiwan

Department and graduate institute of early childhood development and education, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taiwan

Tze-Kiong Er, Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Asia University, Taiwan

Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Asia University, Taiwan

Maria Michaela Quilang Jamora, Department of Psychology, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan

Department of  Psychology, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan

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