Health literacy among the new wave of migrants from the MENAP region in the metropolitan area of Lisbon

• Autor(a) principal: Abdeen, Mohammad
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/134445
• topic: Health literacy; migration; MENAP region migrants; Literacia em saúde; migração; migrantes da região MENAP; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Outras Ciências Sociais

ABSTRACT - Health literacy refers to one’s abilities and resources required to access, understand, and use health information in managing health. Health literacy is a key determinant of health that can be modified to reduce health disparities and improve health equity, especially among vulnerable groups such as migrant communities due to the cumulative effects of other life conditions and existed factors. Research on health literacy in Portugal is still scarce, especially research on migrant’s health literacy. The aim of this study was to examine health literacy levels in a population of the new wave of migrants from the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) region in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, and to explore the relationship between health literacy and socio-demographic characteristics of this population. The study was of a quantitative nature with a descriptive cross-sectional and analytical design. Data were collected from 86 migrants from the MENAP region using the health literacy questionnaire through interviews and online platforms. Socio-demographic data were also collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Effect sizes (ES) for differences in means were calculated to determine the magnitude of differences between socio-demographic groups. Higher mean scores were seen for the scales ‘Social support for health’ and ‘Understanding health information’, lower mean scores were seen for ‘Feeling understood and supported by healthcare providers’ and ‘Navigating the healthcare system’. Associations were seen between lower HLQ scores on various scales and socio-demographic characteristics such as shorter period of time in Portugal, household composition, lower Portuguese proficiency, and irregular migration status. The study showed that migrants of the MENAP region have difficulties in navigating the Portuguese healthcare system, and in their relationships with healthcare providers. The study also showed that recent migrants, those who do not live with their close families, who are undocumented, and those with lower Portuguese proficiency have lower health literacy compered to their counterparts. These findings provide insight into the areas of health literacy weaknesses and difficulties of the MENAP region migrants in Lisbon and provide guidance for more equitable health interventions.