Social Support, Health Literacy, and Health Care Utilization Among Older Adults

• Published in: Asia-Pacific journal of public health Vol. 31; no. 4; pp. 359 - 366
• Main Authors: Liu, Yong-Bing, Hou, Ping, Xue, Hui-Ping, Mao, Xin-E, Li, Yong-Nan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications, Inc 01-05-2019; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; China; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Literacy - statistics & numerical data; Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nursing Homes; Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Social Support; Surveys and Questionnaires; China; social support; health literacy; hospital admissions; nursing homes
• ISSN: 1010-5395; 1941-2479
• DOI: 10.1177/1010539519851674

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between social support, health literacy, and health care utilization in older Chinese adults. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Data were collected from 32 nursing homes from Urumqi in Xinjiang of China. A total of 1486 respondents completed a pack of questionnaires. The average health literacy level of older adults in nursing homes was relatively low, only 73.68 ± 29.42 points; the average social support level was also relatively low, only 31.42 ± 7.12 points (lower than domestic norm of Chinese residents, P < .001). Both values were below the midpoint for the overall population, indicating a sample with below-average levels of healthy literacy and social support. Low social support levels are associated with poor health literacy and greater likelihood of hospital admission (P < .05). Social support was significantly associated with health literacy. Improving the quantity and quality of social support may be an effective means to obtain better health literacy and lower hospital admissions.