Health literacy among rural adolescents in Amravati, Maharashtra: A Community based cross-sectional study

In public health, health literacy is paramount, encompassing the understanding and interaction with health information and services. To determine the prevalence of insufficient health literacy among adolescents residing in rural areas and ascertain potential links between health literacy and socio-demographic variables. The research included 421 adolescents residing in rural areas of Amravati, Maharashtra. Data collection utilized the standardized tool Health Literacy Measure for Adolescents (HELMA). Analysis was performed using STATA version 14, with descriptive data such as health literacy and socio-demographic variables were summarized using frequency and percentage. Binary logistic regression was applied to identify the predictors of health literacy. In this study, the proportions of inadequate health literacy were 18.3%, problematic health literacy (43.5%), sufficient health literacy (34.4%), and excellent health literacy at 3.8%. Age, gender, education, and information sources from family, internet, and school demonstrated significant associations with health literacy (p