Health Literacy and Health Behaviors Among Grade 4–6 Students at a Primary School in Pathum Thani Province
Keywords:
health literacy, health behavior, overnutrition, school-age childrenAbstract
This descriptive correlational study investigated the relationships between health literacy and health behaviors among grade 4-6 students and compared these outcomes between students with normal nutritional status and those with overnutrition. Nutbeam’s health literacy framework was used as the conceptual framework for the study. The sample consisted of 115 students in grades 4–6 recruited from one primary school in Pathum Thani Province (normal nutritional status, n = 64; overnutrition, n = 51). Data were collected using the Health Literacy and Health Behavior Questionnaire for Thai Children and Youth with Overweight, developed by the Health Education Division in collaboration with the Behavioral Science Research Institute of Srinakharinwirot University. The reliability of the instruments, assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, were 0.85 for the health literacy questionnaire and 0.64 for the health behavior questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients, independent samples t-tests, and the Mann–Whitney U tests.
The results indicated that students in both groups (those with normal nutritional status and those with overnutrition) had insufficient health literacy for self-care in obesity prevention, while their obesity-prevention behaviors were at a moderate level. Health literacy was not significantly associated with health behaviors and no significant differences in health literacy or health behaviors were observed between the normal-nutrition and overnutrition groups. Recommendations from this study suggest that nurses, public health personnel, and school health teachers should play a key role in promoting health knowledge and developing health literacy skills among children in both groups. In addition, further studies should investigate the influencing factors affecting health literacy and health behaviors to develop appropriate and sustainable health promotion programs for school-aged children.
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