2023/02/08 by Manan Roy, Roy, Manan, Adam Hege +3
Health Professions · Medicine · #Data-Driven Disease Surveillance #FOS: Health sciences #Health Literacy and Information Accessibility #Health Promotion and Cardiovascular Prevention
paper · doi:10.13023/jah.0403.02
openalex publication_date 2023/02/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
Introduction: Health literacy (HL) is an urgent public health challenge facing the U.S. HL is a critical factor in health inequities and exacerbates underlying social determinants of health. Purpose: This study assesses the association between low HL (LHL) and adverse health behaviors, which contribute to poor health. Methods: -, were used to examine the relationships by addressing omitted variable bias in OLS regressions. Results: Findings indicate that LHL has a direct robust relationship with not exercising, inadequate sleep, irregular health and dental checkup, and health screenings across different age groups. Among women, LHL is associated with getting a Pap test in 3 years as opposed to more than 3 years. Implications: The adverse behaviors can explain the mechanisms underlying the link between LHL and adverse health outcomes. Further research on the causal relationship between LHL and adverse health behaviors using longitudinal data on a broader geographic region is warranted.