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Health literacy and diabetes self‐care activities: The mediating effect of knowledge and patient activation
Author(s) -
Kim Su Hyun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of nursing practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.62
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1440-172X
pISSN - 1322-7114
DOI - 10.1111/ijn.12925
Subject(s) - health literacy , psychological intervention , medicine , diabetes mellitus , health care , literacy , type 2 diabetes , gerontology , family medicine , nursing , psychology , pedagogy , endocrinology , economics , economic growth
Background An association between health literacy and health outcomes has been widely reported in the literature. However, models exploring the links between health literacy and the outcomes of health literacy need further testing. The purpose of this study was to examine the pathways of health literacy on diabetes self‐care activities amongst patients with Type 2 diabetes. Methods A cross‐sectional survey using secondary data analysis was conducted on 155 patients with Type 2 diabetes recruited from the diabetes clinics of two university hospitals in a metropolitan city in South Korea. Structural equation modelling analysis using bootstrapping was carried out using the AMOS software. Results Health literacy had no significant direct effect on diabetes self‐care activities. Rather, health literacy had a significant indirect effect on diabetes self‐care activities mediated through diabetes knowledge and patient activation. Conclusion These findings indicate that interventions intended to improve self‐care activity amongst older adults with low health literacy should include strategies to enhance patients' knowledge, as well as their activation for diabetes self‐care.