Evaluating health literacy from an organizational perspective: A cross-sectional study of community health centers.

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate community health centers' (CHCs) health literacy.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Sample: A total of 374 CHCs were surveyed and 258 CHCs responded, with an effective questionnaire response rate of 69.0%.

Measurements: Data were collected by using a self-developed health literacy assessment tool to survey CHCs' health literacy throughout Taiwan from January to December 2019.

Results: The item of organizational health literacy (OHL) with the highest proportion of CHCs not implementing them was "Design of easy-to-use computer applications and new media" (47.3% not yet achieved), followed by "Involving target audiences in document and service development" (34.9% not yet achieved). CHCs located in northern Taiwan had higher health literacy achievement scores than those in other regions, and those in urban areas had higher health literacy achievement scores than those in general and remote areas.

Conclusions: This study identified items with poor implementation of OHL and found regional differences in health literacy among CHCs. The findings can inform the development of targeted interventions to improve health literacy in underperforming CHCs and guide policymakers in allocating resources to regions and areas in need of.