ArticleDeutsches Arzteblatt international2021
Health Literacy in Germany - Findings of a Representative Follow-up Survey.
Article in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
45 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The relationship between health literacy, food literacy, and dietary choices-a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Unravelling the role of health literacy among individuals with multimorbidity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Interventions to promote critical health literacy: a scoping review.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Teachers' Well-Being and Health in Germany: Representative Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- [Digital transformation in healthcare to strengthen patient autonomy].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026Review
- Migration background, oral hygiene behavior and oral health literacy: findings based on a quota-based sample.Frontiers in oral health · 2026Article
- Latent profiles analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Literacy in middle-aged and older adult patients with chronic diseases and its association with disease burden and self management.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Association between health literacy and chronic diseases in Anhui Province: findings from a province-wide cross-sectional survey of 16,067 individuals.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Layperson-Friendly AI Translation of Medical Documents to Improve Doctor-Patient Communication: Protocols for the AI-INFOCARE and AI-MEDTALK Randomized Controlled Trials.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- The Reduced Multi-Dimensional Health Literacy Scale: A First Bilingual Validation Using RASCH Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Nutritional care in metastatic RCC: patient experiences and reported unaddressed needs.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025Article
- Medication Recommendation, Counseling, and Pricing for Nasal Sprays in German Community Pharmacies: A Simulated Patient Investigation.Advances in respiratory medicine · 2025Article
- Patient Empowerment Among Children and Adolescents with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Parents of IBD Patients-Use of Counseling Services and Lack of Knowledge About Transition.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Can invitation systems increase participation in preventive health screening among adolescents?-an evaluation of a state-wide intervention in Germany using a difference-in-differences analysis of claims data.European journal of public health · 2025Article
- [Establishing and implementing the National Action Plan Health Literacy in Germany].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025Review
- [Professional health literacy. Professional and gender-specific aspects].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2025Article
- Perspectives of nurses and patients on the misplacement of supportive care information for type 2 diabetes mellitus: a qualitative study in China.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Education-based differences in alcohol health literacy in Germany.Drug and alcohol review · 2025Article
- [Professional Health Literacy of General Practitioners - Results of the HLS-PROF].Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Arzte des Offentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany)) · 2025Article
- Evaluating the Acceptance and Usability of an Independent, Noncommercial Search Engine for Medical Information: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study and User Behavior Tracking Analysis.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStudies have shown that the health literacy of the German population is low. The aim of this article is to analyze current developments in health literacy on the basis of recent data.
methodsThe Health Literacy Survey Germany 2 (HLS-GER 2) is a representative quantitative survey of the German-speaking resident population of Germany aged 18 and above. It was carried out in December 2019 and January 2020 by paper- assisted personal oral interview (PAPI). Data on health literacy and socio - demographic characteristics were acquired with an internationally coordinated questionnaire. The instrument for measuring general health literacy consisted of 47 questions that reflect an individual's ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health-related information. The associations between general health literacy and sociodemographic factors were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical tests.
results58.8% of the participants had low health literacy, characterized by rating at least one-third of the questions as "difficult" or "very difficult." Many respondents stated that they had difficulties accessing (48.3%), understanding (47.7%), and applying (53.5%) information, and even more of them (74.7%) reported difficulties appraising information. The correlation coefficients reveal that health literacy is weakly associated with the following variables: age, sex, social status, literacy, level of education, financial deprivation, migration background, and the presence of one or more chronic diseases.
conclusionThe findings of the HLS-GER 2 highlight the need for action in pro - moting health literacy in the healthcare system. As the explanation of variance is low, there are presumably other important determinants of health literacy that were not taken into account. Further studies should be performed to investigate societal conditions of supplying health information, for example, or social and personal characteristics.
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