Characteristics of health literacy of older adults in care prevention classes: pilot study.

Abstract

[Purpose] This pilot study aimed to assess the health literacy of urban community-dwelling older adults participating in exercise classes to inform future educational interventions. [Participants and Methods] We included 58 older adults from Ward A in Tokyo who attended exercise classes and completed a physical fitness assessment in November 2022. The participants were surveyed using a modified version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire to evaluate their ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information for healthcare and disease prevention. [Results] Of the surveyed participants, 74% expressed that healthcare information easy to understand and apply, whilst 64% had difficulty appraising the information. Similarly, 74-90% expressed that accessing, understanding, and applying information related to disease prevention is easy; however, 52% struggled with appraising the information. [Conclusion] This study highlights a gap in the ability of older adults to critically evaluate health information, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to improve appraisal skills and support informed health decision-making.