The Relationship between Personal Factors, Health Literacy in Self-Care, and Continuous Service Utilization among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension Receiving Treatment at Tambon Phe Health Promotion Hospital, Mueang Rayong District, Rayong
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Abstract
This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to examine the relationship between health literacy in self-care and the continuity of healthcare service utilization among patients with diabetes and hypertension at Phe Subdistrict Health Promoting Hospital, Mueang Rayong District, Rayong Province, Thailand. The sample consisted of 207 patients, selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire assessing health literacy in self-care and continuous service utilization behavior among patients with diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Content validity was verified, with item-level scores ranging from 0.6 to 1 Instrument reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Parts 2 and 3 of the questionnaires demonstrated reliability coefficients of 0.94 and 0.74, respectively. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, including the Chi-square test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The level of statistical significance was set at .05.
The research findings revealed that the majority of participants were female, with an average age of 64.16 years (SD = 10.7 years). Most had completed primary education (78.74%). Health literacy related to self-care and continuous health service utilization were rated at very good levels among participants (74.88% and 80.68%, respectively). The analysis of relationships revealed that personal factors were not significantly associated with the behavior of continuously accessing health services. Overall health literacy regarding self-care showed a moderate positive correlation with continuous service utilization behavior, which was statistically significant (r = .592, p < .001). When examining the specific dimensions, health literacy in the areas of access, understanding, appraisal, and application demonstrated statistically significant positive associations with continuous service utilization behavior. Therefore, relevant personnel should continuously promote patients' health literacy, focusing on all four dimensions of self-care literacy to enhance both self-care effectiveness and regular healthcare service utilization.
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