Correlates of Health Literacy among Farmers in Northern Thailand

Hannah Montgomery, Siena Morgan, Kriengkrai Srithanaviboonchai, Pisittawoot Ayood, Penprapa Siviroj and Michele M. Wood
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Hannah Montgomery: Department of Public Health, California State University Fullerton, 800 North State College Boulevard, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92834, USA
Siena Morgan: Department of Public Health, California State University Fullerton, 800 North State College Boulevard, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92834, USA
Kriengkrai Srithanaviboonchai: Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, 110 Intavaroros, Sriphum, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Pisittawoot Ayood: Sankamphaeng Hospital, Buak Khang Sub-district, Sankamphaeng, Chiang Mai 50130, Thailand
Penprapa Siviroj: Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, 110 Intavaroros, Sriphum, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
Michele M. Wood: Department of Public Health, California State University Fullerton, 800 North State College Boulevard, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92834, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: Low health literacy is a barrier to public health efforts worldwide. Agricultural workers have an elevated risk for lower health literacy, with important health implications because of their potential exposure to harmful chemicals. The Asian Health Literacy Survey (AHLS) has been developed and translated for use in several different Asian countries and is standardized for easy comparisons across regions. However, it has not been translated for use in Thailand. The purpose of this study was to (1) to determine the health literacy of rural Thai farmers in Northern Thailand, and (2) identify correlates of health literacy within this group. Internal consistency of the Thai AHLS translation was “excellent” (alpha = 0.92). Descriptive results showed that health literacy was relatively high (M = 34.98/50, SD = 6.87). Education, income, working as a village health volunteer, age, length of time farming, no chemical use in farming, health, and pesticide screening were statistically significant correlates of health literacy ( R 2 = 0.19). Thai farmers had higher health literacy than reported for several other Asian countries. Results may be used to inform the design of future health promotion programs.

Keywords: health literacy; farmers; health education; health communication; Thailand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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