The Relationship between Health Literacy and Self-Care Behaviors in Persons with Lung Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy
Keywords:
Lung cancer, Chemotherapy, Health literacy, Self-care behaviorAbstract
Health literacy plays a critical role in enhancing self-care behaviors in persons with lung cancer receiving chemotherapy. Improving health literacy can empower patients to better understand and manage side effects of chemotherapy, leading to more effective self-care behaviors. This descriptive study aimed to explore the relationship between health literacy and self-care behaviors among lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The participants were 161 lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at the first affiliated hospital of Kunming Medical University and the network hospitals. The tools used for data collection included a demographic data record form, the Chinese version of the Functional Communication Critical Health Literacy Scale (FCCHL), and the Chinese version of The Leuven Questionnaire for Patient Self-care during Chemotherapy (L-PaSC). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the two questionnaires were 0. 0.97 and 0.77, respectively. Descriptive statistics and Spearman's rank correlation were employed for data analysis.
The results of this study revealed the following:
1. The average health literacy score was 2.13 (SD = 0.88, range = 1-4). The average score for functional health literacy was 2.33 (SD = 1.04, range = 1-4). The median score for communication health literacy was 2.16 (SD = 1.04, range = 1-4). The average score for critical health literacy was 1.85 (SD = 0.91, range = 1-4).
2. The average score for self-care behaviors was relatively low, with an overall mean score of 42.60 (SD = 0.20, range = 12-94). The average score for adherence to treatment recommendations and manage- ment of treatment-related events was 32.40 (SD = 0.25, range = 0-93). The average score for symptom relief was 88.63 (SD = 0.24, range = 0-100).
3. Health literacy was found to have a high correlation with self-care behaviors (r = .518, p < .001). Additionally, functional health literacy (r = .437, p < .001), communication health literacy (r = .437, p < .001), and critical health literacy (r = .537, p < .001) were all significantly associated with self-care behaviors.
These research findings highlight the opportunity to improve self-care behaviors among persons with lung cancer receiving chemotherapy by focusing on enhancing health literacy.
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