Ervin Toçi|Genc Burazeri|Naim Jerliu|Kristine Sørensen|Naser Ramadani|Bajram Hysa|Helmut Brand
Health literacy, self-perceived health and self-reported chronic morbidity among older people in Kosovo
Maastricht University|Maastricht University|Maastricht University|Maastricht University|Maastricht University|Maastricht University|Maastricht University
aim describe health literacy among older population kosovo albanian speaking postwar country western balkans context selfperceived health status selfreported chronic morbidity crosssectional study conducted kosovo 2011 including 1753 individuals aged 65 years 886 men 867 women mean age 734 63 years response rate 77 participants asked assess scale 1 5 level difficulty regard access understanding appraisal application health information subscale scores overall health literacy score calculated participant information selfperceived health status presence number chronic diseases socioeconomic characteristics also collected mean values overall health literacy score subscale scores access understanding appraisal application lower among older people reported poorer health status least one chronic condition compared individuals perceived health status good chronic conditions p 0001 findings provide valuable evidence independent inverse association health literacy levels selfperceived health chronic morbidity postwar european population putative link chronic morbidity lower adherence health services hard establish crosssectional study prospective populationbased studies conducted kosovo transitional settings replicate findings properly address causal relationship health literacy health status