Health Literacy and Health Literacy Promotion Behaviors about Particulate Matters of Secondary School Students in Bangkok

Abstract

The objective of this study was to 1) study health literacy and health literacy promotion behaviors about particulate matters 2) study the relationship between health literacy promotion behaviors and health literacy about particulate matters. The sample group was 470 secondary school students. Data were collected by questionnaires. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean, standard deviation as well as inferential statistics such as Pearson correlation coefficient.

            The result showed that the sample’s health literacy about particulate matters was at a fair level with a mean of 90.16 (SD=11.59) and the sample had health literacy promotion behaviors about particulate matters at a fair level with a mean of 65.92 (SD=8.83). The results of the relationship between health literacy promotion behaviors and health literacy about particulate matters showed that health literacy promotion behaviors were associated with cognition, access to health information and services, communication to increase expertise, self-management, media and information literacy and health decision making with a statistical significance level of 0.01.

            Therefore, relevant agencies should have a policy to organize activities to promote health literacy behaviors to encourage students to gain health literacy about particulate matters correctly. This results in the practice of self-prevention and health care properly and continuously until it can be applied in daily life and be healthy in the long life.