Association between Health Literacy and Weight Management Behaviors among Individuals with Hypertension: Data from the Newest Vital Sign

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Saad, A. (2016). Association between Health Literacy and Weight Management Behaviors among Individuals with Hypertension: Data from the Newest Vital Sign. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Health literacy and healthy weight management behaviors are important public health issues, especially among individuals with hypertension. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between health literacy and healthy weight management behaviors among individuals who have hypertension (HTN). This study is a secondary analysis of data collected from a cross-sectional study conducted in an outpatient primary care clinic in Charlotte between September 2011 and March 2012. Health literacy was measured using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). The NVS scores range from 0 to 6, and a score of 4 or more is considered adequate health literacy (AHL). Weight management behaviors were measured using a subscale of the H-SCALE, a 10-item scale that uses a five point Likert scale to assess participants’ behaviors over the last 30 days (see Appendix I). Scores range from 10 to 50, and participants were considered adherent if they agreed or strongly agreed with all 10 weight management behaviors. The final sample size included for analysis was n=200. Logistic regression was performed to find the association between adequate health literacy level and adherence to healthy weight management behaviors. Of the 200 participants, 29% had AHL. After adjusting for race as a confounder, participants with AHL had 57% reduced odds of adherence to weight management behaviors (OR=0.43; 95% CI: 0.21-0.91). People with HTN who had AHL may not be aware of health behaviors that contribute to weight management or, they may have been more focused on physical activity (PA) for weight management and were unaware of the benefits of dietary changes in addition to PA. Overall, the sample’s low rates of AHL suggest the need for health literacy interventions. Future studies to investigate weight management behaviors that are measured by the H-SCALE would be useful. In addition, future research would benefit from a larger and more diverse study population.

Details
Author

Saad, Aisling

Title

Association between Health Literacy and Weight Management Behaviors among Individuals with Hypertension: Data from the Newest Vital Sign

Physical Description

1 online resource (63 pages) : PDF

Date

2016

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Health literacy and healthy weight management behaviors are important public health issues, especially among individuals with hypertension. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between health literacy and healthy weight management behaviors among individuals who have hypertension (HTN). This study is a secondary analysis of data collected from a cross-sectional study conducted in an outpatient primary care clinic in Charlotte between September 2011 and March 2012. Health literacy was measured using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). The NVS scores range from 0 to 6, and a score of 4 or more is considered adequate health literacy (AHL). Weight management behaviors were measured using a subscale of the H-SCALE, a 10-item scale that uses a five point Likert scale to assess participants’ behaviors over the last 30 days (see Appendix I). Scores range from 10 to 50, and participants were considered adherent if they agreed or strongly agreed with all 10 weight management behaviors. The final sample size included for analysis was n=200. Logistic regression was performed to find the association between adequate health literacy level and adherence to healthy weight management behaviors. Of the 200 participants, 29% had AHL. After adjusting for race as a confounder, participants with AHL had 57% reduced odds of adherence to weight management behaviors (OR=0.43; 95% CI: 0.21-0.91). People with HTN who had AHL may not be aware of health behaviors that contribute to weight management or, they may have been more focused on physical activity (PA) for weight management and were unaware of the benefits of dietary changes in addition to PA. Overall, the sample’s low rates of AHL suggest the need for health literacy interventions. Future studies to investigate weight management behaviors that are measured by the H-SCALE would be useful. In addition, future research would benefit from a larger and more diverse study population.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Public health
Health education
Nutrition

Degree

M.S.

Keywords

Health Literacy
Hypertension
Physical Activity
Weight Management

Subject Area

Public Health

Advisor(s)

Warren-Findlow, Jan

Committee Members

Coffman, Maren
Laditka, Sarah

Degree Note

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2016.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Saad_uncc_0694N_11214

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:629