Association of Individual Health Literacy with Preventive Behaviours and Family Well-Being during COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediating Role of Family Information Sharing
Janet Yuen Ha Wong, Abraham Ka Chung Wai, Sheng Zhi Zhao, Faustina Fu Yip, Jung Jae Lee, Carlos King Ho Wong, Man Ping Wang, Tai Hing Lam
Abstract
Objective: We tested a model of individual health literacy information sharing with family members, personal preventive behaviours and family well-being during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Hong Kong. Methods: We analysed data of 1501 randomly selected Chinese adults from a cross-sectional survey in Hong Kong from 9 to 23 April, 2020. Individual health literacy about COVID-19 with the items extracted from the questionnaire in World Health Organization Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Action Plan Guidance for COVID-19 preparedness and response, COVID-19 information sharing with family members, preventive behaviours against COVID-19 and family well-being were measured. Structural equation modelling analysis tested the proposed model. Findings: COVID-19 information sharing with family members partially mediated the association between individual health literacy and personal preventive behaviours. The direct effect of 0.24 was shown, and the indirect effect through COVID-19 information sharing with family members was small at 0.03 (Z = 3.66, p < 0.001). Family well-being was associated with personal preventive behaviours against COVID-19. The model was adjusted for sex, age, and socioeconomic status factors and had good fit with RMSEA = 0.04, CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.96, and SRMR = 0.02. Conclusion: COVID-19 information sharing with family members was a partial mediator between individual health literacy and personal preventive behaviours against COVID-19. Strategies for enhancing health literacy and preventive measures against COVID-19 are needed to promote family well-being in the pandemic.