Malaysian Health Literacy: Scorecard Performance from a National Survey

Abstract

Health literacy is an indicator of a society’s ability to make better health judgements for themselves and the people around them. This study investigated the prevalence of health literacy among Malaysian adults and provided an overall picture of the society’s current health literacy status, which has not been previously assessed. The study also highlighted socio-demographic markers of communities with limited health literacy that may warrant future intervention. A population-based self-administered survey using the Health Literacy Survey Malaysian Questionnaire18 (HLS-M-Q18) instrument was conducted as part of the National Health Morbidity Survey 2019 in Malaysia. The nationwide survey utilized a two-staged stratified random sampling method. A sample of 9478 individuals aged 18 and above, drawn from the living quarter list, participated in the study. The health literacy score was divided into three levels; limited, sufficient, and excellent. Findings showed a majority of the Malaysian population had a sufficient health literacy level in all three domains—healthcare, diseases prevention and health promotion (49.1%, 44.2%, and 47.5%, respectively)—albeit leaning towards the lower end of the category with an average score of 35.5. The limited health literacy groups were prevalent among respondents with older age (68%), lower education level (64.8%), and lower household income (49.5%). The overall health literacy status for Malaysia was categorized at a lower sufficiency level. Future health literacy improvements should focus on communities with a limited health literacy level to improve the overall score.

Knowledge, Perceptions and Behaviors Related to COVID-19 in a University Setting in Malaysia

“…With respect to stereotyping, we found that females tended to do this more ( p = 0.005). In a study on Malaysians, Jaafar et al reported that females have better sufficiency in health literacy than their male counterparts ( 64 ), a result that was consistent with the finding from other countries ( 65 – 68 ). We did not, however, observe this in the present study.…”

Effects of Mobile Application Program (App)-Assisted Health Education on Preventive Behaviors and Cancer Literacy among Women with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia

“…Health literacy was noted to be significantly associated with age, health status, and health problems [ 41 ]; it is also seen as an indicator by which to describe a nation’s health status. A national health literacy survey, including nearly 9500 individuals aged 18 and above, showed that limited health literacy groups were prevalent among respondents of an older age, a lower education level, and with a lower household income [ 42 ]. Another nationwide cross-sectional survey enrolling over 9000 Danish individuals aged ≥ 25 years showed that inadequate health literacy is strongly associated with a low socio-economic status, a poor health status, inactivity, and being overweight [ 43 ].…”

Factors Affecting the Men’s Health Literacy in Malaysia

“…Using the self-administered HLS-M-Q18 questionnaire, data were gathered. This questionnaire was developed and condensed from European Questionnaire 47 of the Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU-Q47) (Jaafar et al, 2021;Mohamad et al, 2020). The European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) is gaining popularity as a health literacy (HL) measurement instrument, notably in Malaysia.…”

“…The European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) is gaining popularity as a health literacy (HL) measurement instrument, notably in Malaysia. (Jaafar et al, 2021) used confirmatory component analysis to compress the 47-item scale to a short scale with appropriate psychometric qualities for HL screening.…”