Background
Aim
Methods
Study design
Participants and data collection
Study questionnaires and additional questions
Statistical analysis
Results
Characteristics of the study population
Characteristics | Total (n = 681) | Arabic speakers (n = 334) | Swedish speakers (n = 347) | p value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Biological sex, n (%) | ||||
Female | 382 (56.9) | 206 (62.8) | 176 (51.2) | 0.003a |
Male | 290 (43.1) | 122 (37.2) | 168 (48.8) | |
Age in years | ||||
Mean (SD) | 45.9 (18.3) | 42.1 (12.7) | 49.4 (21.7) | < 0.001b |
Range | 19–95 | 19–77 | 19–95 | |
Country of birth, n (%) | – | |||
Sweden | 348 (51.3) | 3 (0.9) | 345 (99) | |
Syria | 197 (29.1) | 197 (59.2) | – | |
Iraq | 74 (10.9) | 74 (22.2) | – | |
Other | 59 (8.7) | 59 (17.7) | – | |
Years in Sweden | – | |||
Mean (SD) | – | 9.6 (8.4) | – | |
Range | – | 0–38 | – | |
Highest education level, n (%) | ||||
None | 6 (0.9) | 6 (1.8) | – | < 0.001a |
1–6 years | 31 (4.6) | 26 (7.8) | 5 (1.5) | |
7–9 years | 77 (11.4) | 49 (14.8) | 28 (8.1) | |
10–12 years | 232 (34.3) | 75 (22.6) | 157 (45.6) | |
Graduated from university | 330 (49.8) | 176 (53.0) | 154 (44.8) | |
Generated self-perceived health, n (%) | ||||
Very poor | 6 (0.8) | 6 (1.8) | – | < 0.001a |
Poor | 27 (4.0) | 19 (5.7) | 8 (2.3) | |
Fair | 123 (18.1) | 83 (24.9) | 40 (11.5) | |
Good | 354 (52.1) | 144 (43.2) | 210 (60.5) | |
Very good | 170 (25.0) | 81 (24.4) | 89 (25.6) | |
Frequency of Internet use, n (%) | ||||
Almost never | 20 (2.9) | 7 (2.1) | 13 (3.7) | 0.223a |
Less than 1 day a week | 7 (1.0) | 6 (1.8) | 1 (0.3) | |
Around 1 day a week | 18 (2.6) | 9 (2.7) | 9 (2.6) | |
Several days a week | 51 (7.5) | 27 (8.1) | 24 (6.9) | |
Almost every day | 584 (85.9) | 284 (85.3) | 300 (86.5) | |
Usability of the Internet, n (%) | ||||
Not useful at all | 23 (3.4) | 8 (2.4) | 15 (4.4) | 0.017a |
Not very useful | 35 (5.2) | 22 (6.7) | 13 (3.8) | |
Unsure | 133 (19.9) | 75 (22.7) | 58 (17.1) | |
Useful | 315 (47.1) | 138 (41.8) | 177 (52.2) | |
Very useful | 163 (24.4) | 87 (26.4) | 76 (22.4) | |
Importance of the Internet, n (%) | ||||
Not important at all | 25 (3.7) | 11 (3.3) | 14 (4.1) | 0.039a |
Not very important | 36 (5.4) | 20 (6.1) | 16 (4.7) | |
Unsure | 120 (17.9) | 73 (22.1) | 47 (13.8) | |
Important | 278 (41.5) | 134 (40.6) | 144 (42.4) | |
Very important | 211 (31.5) | 92 (27.9) | 119 (35.0) |
Does CHL/eHL differ between Arabic speakers and Swedish speakers?
Variables | Total (n = 681) | Arabic Speakers (n = 334) | Swedish speakers (n = 347) | p-value |
---|---|---|---|---|
HLS-EU-Q16, n (%) | ||||
Inadequate (0–8) | 87 (13.3) | 66 (20.6) | 21 (6.3) | < 0.001b |
Problematic (9–12) | 205 (31.2) | 130 (40.5) | 75 (22.4) | |
Sufficient (13–16) | 364 (55.5) | 125 (38.9) | 239 (71.3) | |
eHEALS sum score | ||||
Mean (SD) | 28.7 (6.2) | 28.1 (6.1) | 29.3 (6.2) | 0.012a |
Range | 8–40 | 8–40 | 8–40 | |
eHEALS, n (%) | ||||
Inadequate (8–20) | 48 (7.7) | 27 (9.0) | 21 (6.5) | 0.005b |
Problematic (21–26) | 154 (24.8) | 89 (29.8) | 65 (20.1) | |
Sufficient (27–40) | 420 (67.5) | 183 (61.2) | 237 (73.4) |
Is there any association between being an Arabic speaker and limited CHL/eHL?
Variables | Crude OR | (95% CI) | Adjusted OR | (95% CI) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Native language | ||||||
Swedish | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Arabic | 3.90** | 2.82 | 5.41 | 3.65** | 1.95 | 6.82 |
Biological sex | ||||||
Male | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Female | 1.53* | 1.11 | 2.09 | 1.34 | 0.93 | 1.94 |
Age | ||||||
19–24 | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
25–54 | 1.49 | 0.90 | 2.47 | 0.90 | 0.49 | 1.65 |
55–64 | 1.03 | 0.54 | 1.97 | 0.60 | 0.28 | 1.28 |
65+ | 0.76 | 0.41 | 1.38 | 0.52 | 0.25 | 1.09 |
Education | ||||||
Academic education | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
7–12 years | 1.58* | 1.15 | 2.17 | 1.68* | 1.14 | 2.48 |
0–6 years | 4.20** | 1.88 | 9.37 | 2.34 | 0.90 | 6.05 |
General self-perceived health | ||||||
Very good or good | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Neither, bad, or very bad | 2.91** | 2.11 | 4.01 | 1.02 | 0.57 | 1.83 |
Frequency of Internet use | ||||||
Every or several days perweek | Ref. | |||||
One day per week or less | 2.65* | 1.34 | 5.25 | 1.44 | 0.62 | 3.38 |
Usability of the Internet | ||||||
Useful or very useful | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Unsure | 2.63** | 1.76 | 3.93 | 1.89* | 1.15 | 3.11 |
Not very useful or not useful at all | 3.91** | 2.15 | 7.13 | 2.55* | 1.11 | 5.87 |
Importance of the Internet | ||||||
Important or very important | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Unsure | 2.87** | 1.88 | 4.39 | 2.00* | 1.15 | 3.46 |
Not very important or not important at all | 3.27** | 1.85 | 5.78 | 1.97 | 0.88 | 4.40 |
Variables | Crude OR | (95% CI) | Adjusted OR | (95% CI) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Native language | ||||||
Swedish | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Arabic | 1.75** | 1.24 | 2.45 | 2.35* | 1.13 | 4.86 |
Biological sex | ||||||
Male | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Female | 1.05 | 0.75 | 1.48 | 0.89 | 0.58 | 1.36 |
Age | ||||||
19–24 | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
25–54 | 1.08 | 0.61 | 1.91 | 0.69 | 0.34 | 1.41 |
55–64 | 1.66 | 0.82 | 3.36 | 1.03 | 0.44 | 2.41 |
65+ | 2.51* | 1.32 | 4.76 | 1.65 | 0.74 | 3.70 |
Education | ||||||
Academic education | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
7–12 years | 1.58* | 1.11 | 2.25 | 1.68* | 1.07 | 2.63 |
0–6 years | 2.94** | 1.42 | 6.08 | 1.63 | 0.63 | 4.20 |
General self-perceived health | ||||||
Very good or good | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Neither, bad, or very bad | 1.60* | 1.14 | 2.24 | 1.03 | 0.53 | 2.00 |
Frequency of internet use | ||||||
Every or several days per week | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
One day per week or less | 11.17** | 4.54 | 27.45 | 4.03* | 1.33 | 12.24 |
Usability of the Internet | ||||||
Useful or very useful | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Unsure | 5.35** | 3.45 | 8.29 | 3.04** | 1.81 | 5.09 |
Not very useful or not useful at all | 15.77** | 7.82 | 31.81 | 6.77** | 2.80 | 16.38 |
Importance of the Internet | ||||||
Important or very important | Ref. | Ref. | ||||
Unsure | 6.17** | 3.92 | 9.72 | 2.56** | 1.47 | 4.46 |
Not very important or not important at all | 8.02** | 4.38 | 14.69 | 1.74 | 0.76 | 4.01 |
What are the differences and similarities regarding the scoring of CHL/eHL items between Arabic and Swedish speakers?
Dimensions and items | Arabic speakers | Swedish speakers | |
---|---|---|---|
Difficult / very difficulta (%) | Difficult / very difficulta (%) | p valueb | |
Accessing | |||
Find out where to get professional help when you are ill | 50.9 | 13.4 | < 0.001 |
Find information on treatments of illness that concerns you | 34.3 | 10.3 | < 0.001 |
Find information on how to manage mental health problems like stress or depression | 47.8 | 32.5 | < 0.001 |
Find out about activities that are good for your mental health | 15.4 | 10.3 | 0.049 |
Understanding | |||
Understand your doctor’s or pharmacist’s instruction on how to take a prescribed medicine | 17.4 | 2.6 | < 0.001 |
Understand health warnings about behaviour such as smoking, low physical activity, and drinking too much | 16.0 | 4.1 | < 0.001 |
Understand why you need health screening | 16.9 | 5.5 | < 0.001 |
Understand what the doctor says to you | 30.5 | 7.6 | < 0.001 |
Understand information in the media on how to get healthier | 25.8 | 16.1 | 0.002 |
Understand advice on health from family members or friends | 13.0 | 10.9 | 0.399 |
Appraising | |||
Judge which everyday behaviour is related to your health | 19.1 | 6.2 | < 0.001 |
Judge when you may need to get a second opinion from another doctor | 58.5 | 45.0 | < 0.001 |
Judge if the information on health risks in the media is reliable | 43.4 | 32.7 | 0.004 |
Applying | |||
Follow instruction from your doctor or pharmacist | 14.8 | 2.1 | < 0.001 |
Use information the doctor gives you to make decisions about illness | 37.9 | 21.0 | < 0.001 |
Decide how you can protect yourself from illness based on information in the media | 26.2 | 28.4 | 0.532 |
Itemsa | Arabic speakers | Swedish speakers | p valueb |
---|---|---|---|
Disagree / Strongly disagreea (%) | Disagree /Strongly disagreea (%) | ||
I know how to find helpful health resources on the Internet | 14.4 | 8.4 | 0.014 |
I feel confident in using information from the Internet to make health decision | 16.3 | 9.1 | 0.006 |
I know where to find helpful health resources on the Internet | 9.3 | 7.4 | 0.360 |
I know how to use the Internet to answer my health questions | 11.9 | 8.9 | 0.206 |
I know what health resources are available on the Internet | 11.5 | 12.6 | 0.658 |
I can tell high quality from low quality health resources on the Internet | 17.8 | 12.1 | 0.036 |
I know how to use the health information I find on the Internet to help me | 10.9 | 8.6 | 0.320 |
I have the skills I need to evaluate the health resources I find on the Internet | 15.3 | 14.3 | 0.724 |