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When to see a doctor for common health problems: distribution patterns of functional health literacy across migrant populations in Switzerland

  • Orginal Article
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International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Background

Knowing when to seek professional help for health problems is considered an important aspect of health literacy. However, little is known about the distribution of help-seeking knowledge in the general population or specific subpopulations.

Methods

We analysed data from the “Health Monitoring of the Swiss Migrant Population 2010” and used a short survey tool to study the distribution of help-seeking knowledge. We sampled members of four migrant groups (from Portugal, Turkey, Serbia and Kosovo; n = 2,614). Our tool contained 12 items that addressed common physical and psychological health problems. A total sum score measured help-seeking knowledge. Two sub-scores analysed knowledge related to potential overuse (minor symptoms) or potential underuse (major symptoms). We applied linear regression to show variations in help-seeking knowledge by age, sex, region of origin and length of stay.

Results

Controlling for self-rated health, we found that region of origin, higher education, female gender and younger age were significantly associated with higher knowledge scores.

Conclusions

We present empirical evidence of unequal distribution of help-seeking knowledge across four migrant populations in Switzerland. Our findings contribute to current conceptual developments in health literacy, and provide starting points for future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Sabine Ackermann Rau & Thomas Abel

  2. School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Sibel Sakarya

Authors
  1. Sabine Ackermann Rau
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  2. Sibel Sakarya
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  3. Thomas Abel
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Correspondence to Thomas Abel.

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Ackermann Rau, S., Sakarya, S. & Abel, T. When to see a doctor for common health problems: distribution patterns of functional health literacy across migrant populations in Switzerland. Int J Public Health 59, 967–974 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-014-0583-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-014-0583-5

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