Health Literacy of Newly-Admitted Cancer Patients in Vietnam: Difficulties Understanding Treatment Options and Processing Health-Related Information

Abstract

Having a good understanding of cancer patients’ health literacy in the early stage of diagnosis can help to implement strategies to improve the management process and overall health outcomes. The study aims to describe health literacy and its association with socio-demographic characteristics among newly admitted cancer patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 262 newly admitted patients of a cancer hospital in Vietnam using the Vietnamese version of the HLS-SF12 questionnaire. Descriptive analytics and regression analysis were used to describe health literacy and examine associated factors. Older age, lower level of education, and living in rural areas were associated with lower health literacy while there was no significant relationship between gender and health literacy among newly admitted cancer patients. Many newly admitted patients, especially the older patients have difficulties understanding the different treatment options (54%) and evaluating the reliability of health information on the internet (43%). During the early stage of treatment, strategies should be implemented with regards to patients’ health literacy, to properly educate patients and their caregivers to improve communication, adherence to medication, lifestyle, and overall better quality of life and treatment outcome.

Quality of Life and Its Associated Factors Among Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy at Oncology Hospitals in Vietnam After the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“… 44 , 45 The included patients could independently answer the questionnaire, suggesting that their health status could be similar between the advanced and early stages. Besides, cancer patients in Vietnam might have low health literacy and perceive cancer as a catastrophic disease regardless of the stages; 46 therefore, they might be concerned about cancer of all stages similarly. The finding about gender was in line with the previous studies explaining that female cancer patients tended to have worse HRQOL.…”

Topics Included in Health Literacy Studies in Asia: A Systematic Review

“…37 The most common determinants associated with their HL level were age, 13,15,16,24,36,15,40,41,44,45,53 -70 education, 13,16,24,30,32,15,35 -37,39,40,44,45,50,52 -58,60 -66,68,71 …”

“…Based on the characteristics of the population in these studies, the percentages of inadequate, low, or limited HL levels varied between 3.5% (among 4589 cancer patients in China) 24 and 84.5% (among 1360 community residents aged 15-69 years in Shanghai). 37 The most common determinants associated with their HL level were age, 13,15,16,24,36,15,40,41,44,45,53 -70 education, 13,16,24,30,32,15,35 -37,39,40,44,45,50,52 -58,60 -66,68,71 …”

The Role of Cognitive Dysfunction and Health Literacy on the Quality of Life in Cancer Survivors

“…In other words, inadequate literacy among the elderly reduces their quality of life. Another study showed that older age, lower level of education, and living in rural areas are associated with lower health literacy (36). The results can be explained from another angle.…”

“…Age hurts 3 dimensions of health literacy: Health care system, health promotion, and disease prevention. As a result, it can be found that older patients have more difficulty finding information about mental health management (36). Poor health literacy can lead to cancer patients' behavior: Poor health, limited access to health care, reduced understanding of medical information, lack of interaction with physicians and health care personnel, and inconsistencies with treatment plans (37).…”