Health literacy in the elderly: Awareness and misinformation in relation to the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Czech version

Authors: Dagmar Obšilová; Kateřina Ivanová; Dagmar Horáková
Authors‘ workplace: Ústav veřejného zdravotnictví LF UK, Olomouc
Published in: Geriatrie a Gerontologie 2021, 10, č. 4: 189-195
Category: Original Article

Overview

Diabetes mellitus type 2 is one of the most serious metabolic diseases and the prevalence of the disease is dynamically expanding. Patient compliance with healthcare professionals and suitable lifestyle play an important role in the treatment of diabetes. Understanding the diagnosis, the patient‘s own involvement in treatment and suitable lifestyle are one of the aspects of functional health literacy. According to research, the most endangered group in relation to low health literacy are seniors.

The article summarizes the results of a questionnaire survey among seniors over the age of 65 in the Olomouc Region, which examined the occurrence of information and misinformation about diabetes mellitus type 2. The results from the sample (n = 162) revealed generally low knowledge of seniors about the disease and confirmed the occurrence of misinformation. One of the most serious findings of survey is the misconception of seniors about the ability to subjectively recognize hyperglycemia.

Keywords:

diabetes mellitus type 2 – seniors – health literacy – informations and misinformations

Sources

1. Nutbeam D. Health literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century. Health Promotion Int [online]. 2000; 15(3): 259–267. [cit. 2021-03-14].

2. Málková D. Zdravotní gramotnost seniorů o onemocnění diabetes mellitus 2. typu v Olomouckém kraji. Olomouc 2021. Diplomová práce. Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci.

3. Cheuk H, Kevin KWHO, Dickson KW. Stopping Healthcare Misinformation: The Effect of Financial Incentives and Legislation. Health Policy [online]. 2021; (1): 1–21. [cit. 2021-03-06].

4. Pálsdottir, Á. Media and Health Information Literacy among Senior Citizens in Iceland. Revista Română de Biblioteconomie și Știința Informării [Romanian Journal of Library and Information Science] [online]. 2017; 13(3): 59–74. [cit. 2021-03-06].

5. Hajduchová H, Bártlová I, Brabcová D, et al. Zdravotní gramotnost seniorů a její vliv na zdraví a čerpání zdravotních služeb. Prakt Lék [online]. 2017; 97(5): 223–227. [cit. 2021-03-06].

6. Beňadíková D, Ibóriková I. Sociodemografické charakteristiky seniorskej populácie a ich vplyv na úroveň zdravotnej gramotnosti: literárny prehľad. Prakt Lék [online]. 2020; 100(3): 113–117. [cit. 2021-03-06].

7. International diabetes atlas [online]. International diabetes federation, 2019 [cit. 2021-03-17]. Dostupné z: https://www.diabetesatlas.org/en

8. Pelikánová T, Bartoš V. Praktická diabetologie. Praha: Maxdorf 2018.

9. Perušičová J. Diabetes mellitus v kostce. Praha: Maxdorf 2016.

10. Weber P. Diabetes mellitus – specifika a komplikace ve stáří. Intern Med Praxi [online]. 2008; 10(10): 456–460 [cit. 2021-03-06].

11. Anděl M, Brunerová L, Novák J, et al. Diabetes mellitus: Současný pohled na patogenezi, klasifikaci a léčbu. Neurol Praxi [online]. 2007; 2007(1): 49–54. [cit. 2021-03-24].

12. Mahmood K, Akhtar ST, et al. Dietary misconceptions in Pakistani Diabetic Patients. Pak J Med Sci [online]. 2011; 27(1): 128–132. [cit. 2021-03-06].

13. Quereshi MA, et al. A research on occurence of different misunderstanding of diet in the patients of diabetes. Indo Am J Pharm Sci [online]. 2019; 6(4): 7965-7971. [cit. 2021-03-06].

14. Chen CC, Chen CL, Ko Y, et al. The Misconceptions and Determinants of Diabetes Knowledge in Patients with Diabetes in Taiwan. J Diabetes Res [online]. 2020: 1–5. [cit. 2021-03-06].

15. Rehman A, Mirza U, Jehan M. Myths and misconceptions regarding diabetes and non-diabetic Indian population. Int J Curr Res Rev [online]. 2013; 5(6): 26–30. [cit. 2021-03-06].

16. Cejpek J. Informace, komunikace a myšlení: úvod do informační vědy. 1. Praha: Karolinum 1998.

17. Kučera Z, Pelikan J, Šteflová A. Zdravotní gramotnost obyvatel ČR − výsledky komparativního reprezentativního šetření. Čas Lék Čes [online]. 2016; 155(5): 233–241. [cit. 2021-03-06].

18. Rasi P, Vuojarvi H, Rivinen S. Promoting Media Literacy Among Older People: A Systematic Review. Adult Education Quarterly [online]. 2021; 71(1): 37–54. [cit. 2021-03-06].

19. Venglářová M. Problematické situace v péči o seniory: příručka pro zdravotnické a sociální pracovníky. Praha: Grada Publishing 2007.