Health literacy and coronavirus disease 2019 prevention behaviors of village health volunteers in Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand

Abstract

Village health volunteers (VHVs) play crucial leadership roles in promoting health behavior changes including searching for, controlling, and preventing the spread of COVID-19 within their communities. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between health literacy and COVID-19 prevention behaviors of 425 VHVs in Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand, who were selected using a multistage sampling method. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis to determine correlations. Results revealed that most participants demonstrated good overall health literacy (63.3%), with COVID-19 prevention behaviors at a high level (53.6%). A positive correlation was observed between overall health literacy and COVID-19 prevention behavior (r = 0.103, p-value < 0.05). After adjusting for age in years, the overall health literacy score was found to be significantly related to the COVID-19 prevention behavior score (Beta = 0.146). These findings can be utilized to further enhance health literacy among VHVs in Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand and serve as a guideline to promote effective disease prevention behaviors within local communities.