The Relationship Between Health Literacy and Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) Levels Among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Working as Rubber Tappers in Ban Pho Subdistrict, Mueang Trang District, Trang Province
Keywords:
Health Literacy, Glycated Hemoglobin, Diabetes Mellitus, Rubber TappersAbstract
This analytical cross-sectional study examined health literacy and its association with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) among 102 rubber tappers, with diabetes, in Ban Pho Subdistrict, Mueang Trang District, Trang Province. Participants were selected by simple random sampling. Data were collected using a general information questionnaire and a K-shape health literacy questionnaire, covering five skills: access, understanding, questioning, decision-making, and application. The instrument had a content validity value of 0.75 and a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.86. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficient at a significance level of 0.05.
More than half of participants were female (62.75%), with a mean age of 64.87 years (SD = 8.87). Mean HbA1c was 7.62% (SD = 1.31), and 67.65% had uncontrolled HbA1c. Overall health literacy was high in 86.27% of participants, with a mean score of 3.25 (SD = 0.36). Information access had the highest mean score, whereas application had the lowest. Information access (r = -0.285, p = 0.004) and understanding (r = -0.239, p = 0.016) were significantly negatively correlated with HbA1c, while the other skills were not. These findings support strengthening access to, and understanding of health information through communication, tailored to the lifestyles of rubber tappers.
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