The Role of Health Literacy in COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors and Infection Risk Perception: Evidence from a Population-Based Sample of Essential Frontline Workers during the Lockdown in the Province of Prato (Tuscany, Italy)

Vieri Lastrucci, Chiara Lorini, Marco Del Riccio, Eleonora Gori, Fabrizio Chiesi, Andrea Moscadelli, Beatrice Zanella, Sara Boccalini, Angela Bechini, Francesco Puggelli, Renzo Berti, Paolo Bonanni and Guglielmo Bonaccorsi
Additional contact information
Vieri Lastrucci: Epidemiology Unit, Meyer Children’s University Hospital, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini 24, 50139 Florence, Italy
Chiara Lorini: Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Marco Del Riccio: Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Eleonora Gori: Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Fabrizio Chiesi: Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Andrea Moscadelli: Medical Specialization School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Beatrice Zanella: Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Sara Boccalini: Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Angela Bechini: Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Francesco Puggelli: Management Department, Meyer Children’s University Hospital, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini 24, 50139 Florence, Italy
Renzo Berti: Department of Prevention, Azienda Sanitaria Locale Toscana Centro, Via Lavarone 3/5, 59100 Prato, Italy
Paolo Bonanni: Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy
Guglielmo Bonaccorsi: Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Viale GB Morgagni 48, 50134 Florence, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-14

Abstract: Background: The effectiveness of pandemic control measures requires a broad understanding from the population. This study aimed to evaluate the role played by health literacy (HL) in influencing the adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and risk perception of essential frontline workers during the lockdown period. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a population-based sample of frontline workers from Prato Province (Italy). Data on knowledge, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 preventive measures and risk perception were collected. HL was measured with the HLS-EU-Q6 tool. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed. Results: A total of 751 people participated in this study, and 56% of the sample showed a sufficient level of HL. In the multivariate models, HL resulted in being positively correlated with both knowledge (beta 0.32 for sufficient HL, 0.11 for problematic HL) and attitudes (beta 0.33 for sufficient HL, 0.17 for problematic HL) towards the importance of COVID-19 preventive measures. The HL level was not associated with the adoption of preventive behaviors and COVID-19 risk perception. Conclusions: HL may play a key role in maintaining a high adherence to infection prevention behaviors and may be a factor to take into account in the implementation of public health interventions in pandemic times.

Keywords: health literacy; COVID-19; infection control; preventive measures; infection prevention behaviors; risk perception; population-based; essential frontline workers; knowledge; attitudes and practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13386/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13386/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:13386-:d:706221

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().