Volume 28, Issue 3 (6-2018)                   JHNM 2018, 28(3): 157-162 | Back to browse issues page


XML Print


Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:

Bashirian S, Esmaeilpour-Zanjani S. Assessing the Health Literacy Level of Mothers of Under 5-year-old Children With Malnutrition. JHNM 2018; 28 (3) :157-162
URL: http://hnmj.gums.ac.ir/article-1-614-en.html
1- Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran.
2- Department of Nursing, Instructor, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran. , s_esmaeilpour@yahoo.com
Abstract:   (4829 Views)

Introduction: Health literacy is defined as the ability to read, understand, and utilization of the basic health information to lead a better and healthy life. Low health literacy has a direct relationship with lower health and increased hospitalization.
Objective: This study is aimed to investigate the health literacy level in mothers of children under the age of 5 years suffering from malnutrition in families and been supported by the health centers in Bojnourd City, Iran.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and analytical study, using cluster sampling method, was performed on 448 mothers with malnourished children under 5 years of age. Malnutrition in children depends on three indicators of weight-for-age, weight-for-height and height-for-age to determine their underweight, wasting and stunting status. To measure the level of health literacy in mothers, the test for functional health literacy in adults was employed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis statistical test.
Results: Based on the study results, the prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting of children were 83.9%, 7.1% and 8.9%, respectively. The average health literacy score of mothers was 66.98% out of which 32.1% had an inadequate level of health literacy. Comparison of the mean of health literacy scores by Kruskal-Wallis test showed that mothers with occupation and education had different levels of health literacy while mothers who were employees with a university degree had significantly higher levels of health literacy (P=0.001).
Conclusion: Increasing the health literacy in mothers may be an effective way to prevent malnutrition among children. Most of the mothers in this study had an adequate level of health literacy, and the percentage of mothers with inadequate and marginal health literacy was also in considerable number. Given the importance of the health literacy, it seems necessary to have more concern and attention in this regard. 

Full-Text [PDF 457 kb]   (1088 Downloads) |   |   Full-Text (HTML)  (1635 Views)  
Article Type : Research | Subject: General
Received: 2016/02/9 | Accepted: 2016/05/18 | Published: 2018/06/15

References
1. Berkman ND, Sheridan SL, Donahue KE, Halpern DJ, Crotty K. Low health literacy and health outcomes: An updated systematic review. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2011; 155(2):97-107. [DOI:10.7326/0003-4819-155-2-201107190-00005] [PMID] [DOI:10.7326/0003-4819-155-2-201107190-00005]
2. Sørensen K, Van den Broucke S, Fullam J, Doyle G, Pelikan J, Slonska Z, et al. Health literacy and public health: A systematic review and integration of definitions and models. BMC Public Health. 2012; 12(1):80. [DOI:10.1186/1471-2458-12-80] [PMID] [PMCID] [DOI:10.1186/1471-2458-12-80]
3. Sheridan SL, Halpern DJ, Viera AJ, Berkman ND, Donahue KE, Crotty K. Interventions for individuals with low health literacy: A systematic review. Journal of Health Communication. 2011; 16(sup3):30-54. [DOI:10.1080/10810730.2011.604391] [DOI:10.1080/10810730.2011.604391]
4. Nekoei-Moghadam M, Parva S, Amiresmaili M, Baneshi M. [Health Literacy and Utilization of health Services in Kerman urban Area 2011 (Persian)]. Toloo-e-Behdasht. 2012; 11(14):123-34.
5. Sanders LM, Shaw JS, Guez G, Baur C, Rudd R. Health literacy and child health promotion: Implications for research, clinical care, and public policy. Paediatrics. 2009; 124(Supplement 3):S306-S14. [DOI:10.1542/peds.2009-1162G] [PMID] [DOI:10.1542/peds.2009-1162G]
6. Asgary R, Liu M, Naderi R, Grigoryan Z, Malachovsky M. Malnutrition prevalence and nutrition barriers in children under 5 years: A mixed methods study in Madagascar. International Health. 2015; 7(6):426-32. [DOI:10.1093/inthealth/ihv016] [PMID] [DOI:10.1093/inthealth/ihv016]
7. Marcdante K, Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB. Nelson essentials of pediatrics. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2010.
8. Cervantes-Ríos E, Ortiz-Mu-iz R, Martínez-Hernández AL, Cabrera-Rojo L, Graniel-Guerrero J, Rodríguez-Cruz L. Malnutrition and infection influence the peripheral blood reticulocyte micronuclei frequency in children. Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis. 2012; 731(1):68-74. [DOI:10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2011.11.006] [PMID] [DOI:10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2011.11.006]
9. Brady JP. Marketing breast milk substitutes: Problems and perils throughout the world. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2012; 97(6):529-32. [DOI:10.1136/archdischild-2011-301299] [PMID] [PMCID] [DOI:10.1136/archdischild-2011-301299]
10. Esfahani M, Dorosty-Motlagh AR, Sadrzadeh Yeganeh H, Rahimi Frushani A. [The association of feeding practices in the second six months of life with later under nutrition at 1-year old children: Findings from the Household Food Security Study (HFSS) (Persian)]. 2014; 13(3):301-11.
11. Sheikholeslam R, Naghavi M, Abdollahi Z, Zarati M, Vaseghi S, Sadeghi Ghotbabadi F, et al. [Current Status and the 10 Years Trend in the Malnutrition Indexes of Children under 5 years in Iran (Persian)]. Iranian Journal of Epidemiology. 2008; 4(1):21-8.
12. Khosravi M, Keshavarz SA, Hoseini M. [Newborn nutrintional status using anthropometry method and some effectral factors In Bojnord – 2001 (Persian)]. Tehran University Medical Journal. 2005; 63(1):40-2.
13. Kharazi SS, Peyman N, Esmaily H. [Association between maternal health literacy level with pregnancy care and its outcomes (Persian)]. The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility. 2016; 19(37):40-50.
14. Ashraf-Ganjoei T, Mirzaei F, Anari-Dokht F. Relationship between prenatal care and the outcome of pregnancy in low-risk pregnancies. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2011; 1(03):109. [DOI:10.4236/ojog.2011.13019] [DOI:10.4236/ojog.2011.13019]
15. Yee LM, Simon MA. The role of health literacy and numeracy in contraceptive decision-making for urban Chicago women. Journal of Community Health. 2014; 39(2):394-9. [DOI:10.1007/s10900-013-9777-7] [PMID] [DOI:10.1007/s10900-013-9777-7]
16. Mojoyinola J. Influence of maternal health literacy on healthy pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes of women attending public hospitals in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. African Research Review. 2011; 5(3):28-39. [DOI:10.4314/afrrev.v5i3.67336] [DOI:10.4314/afrrev.v5i3.67336]
17. Parikh NS, Parker RM, Nurss JR, Baker DW, Williams MV. Shame and health literacy: The unspoken connection. Patient Education and Counseling. 1996; 27(1):33-9. [DOI:10.1016/0738-3991(95)00787-3] [DOI:10.1016/0738-3991(95)00787-3]
18. Ghaljaei F, Nadrifar M, Ghaljeh M. [Prevalence of malnutrition among 1-36 month old children hospitalized at Imam Ali Hospital in Zahedan (Persian)]. Iran Journal of Nursing. 2009; 22(59):8-14.
19. Yin HS, Johnson M, Mendelsohn AL, Abrams MA, Sanders LM, Dreyer BP. The health literacy of parents in the United States: A nationally representative study. Pediatrics. 2009; 124(Supplement 3):S289-S98. [DOI:10.1542/peds.2009-1162E] [PMID] [DOI:10.1542/peds.2009-1162E]
20. Tehrani Banihashemi SA, Amirkhani MA, Haghdoost AA, Alavian S-M, Asgharifard H, Baradaran H, et al. [Health Literacy and the Influencing Factors: A Study in Five Provinces of Iran (Persian)]. Strides in Development of Medical Education. 2007; 4(1):1-9.
21. Carthery-Goulart MT, Anghinah R, Areza-Fegyveres R, Bahia VS, Brucki SMD, Damin A, et al. Performance of a Brazilian population on the test of functional health literacy in adults. Revista de Saúde Pública. 2009; 43(4):631-8. [DOI:10.1590/S0034-89102009005000031] [PMID] [DOI:10.1590/S0034-89102009005000031]
22. La Vonne A, Zun LS. Assessing adult health literacy in urban healthcare settings. Journal of the National Medical Association. 2008; 100(11):1304. [DOI:10.1016/S0027-9684(15)31509-1] [DOI:10.1016/S0027-9684(15)31509-1]
23. Artinian NT, Lange MP, Templin T, Stallwood LG, Hermann CE. Functional health literacy in an urban primary care clinic. The Internet Journal of Advanced Nursing Practice .2003; 5(2). [DOI: 10.5580/deb] [DOI:10.5580/deb]
24. Reisi M, Mostafavi F, Hasanzadeh A, Sharifirad Gr. [The relationship between health literacy, health status and healthy behaviors among elderly in Isfahan, Iran (Persian)]. 2011; 7(4):469-80.
25. Ali SS, Karim N, Billoo AG, Haider SS. Association of literacy of mothers with malnutrition among children under three years of age in rural area of district Malir, Karachi. Journal of Pakistan Medical Association. 2005; 55(12):550-3. [PMID: 16438277] [PMID]
26. Aslam M, Kingdon GG. Parental education and child health—understanding the pathways of impact in Pakistan. World Development. 2012; 40(10):2014-32. [DOI:10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.05.007] [DOI:10.1016/j.worlddev.2012.05.007]
27. Ali S, Tahir C, Qurat-ul-ain N. Effect of maternal literacy on child health: Myth or reality. Annals of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. 2011; 7:100-3.

Add your comments about this article : Your username or Email:
CAPTCHA

Send email to the article author


Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.