The relationship between health literacy and related factors toward Streptococcus suis prevention behaviors among people in Nakhon Sawan Province

Abstract

Streptococcus suis infection is a disease that can be passed from animals to humans caused by bacteria Streptococcus suis. Pigs serve as the most important reservoir. Streptococcus suis disease can create a significant impact on health such as disability, permanent hearing loss, or even death. It mainly caused by the consumption of foods containing pork, pig blood, or pig organs which are uncooked or undercooked. This behavior can be changed, if people have health literacy which is an important tool for health care and prevention. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to study the level of health literacy of Streptococcus suis disease, the level of preventive behavior of Streptococcus suis disease and factors related to prevention behavior of Streptococcus suis disease. Multistage sampling was performed to recruit 317 participants aged 35-70 years who lived in Nakhon Sawan Province for more than 1 year. Data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed by using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, Chi-square test and Multiple linear regression. The results showed that most of the participants had fair level of health literacy of Streptococcus suis disease (74.1%) and good level of prevention behaviors on Streptococcus suis disease (56.8%). Factors Influencing preventive behavior of Streptococcus suis disease of people in Nakhon Sawan Province are: understanding about Streptococcus suis and prevention, skill make decisions about Streptococcus suis prevention, The beliefs about raw pork and family member influence had a significant positive correlation with Streptococcus suis prevention behavior(p<0.001). Relevant agencies should engage the results with the planning for Streptococcus suis disease prevention and control to protect the people in Nakhon Sawan