探討曾有急診就醫經驗老年人之健康識能

Abstract

本研究旨在探討曾有急診就醫經驗老年人之健康識能及其相關因素，採橫斷式研究設計，以新北市汐止區之社區據點為研究場所，以方便取樣邀請符合收案條件之長者進入本研究。納入條件為年齡大於等於65歲者、意識清楚可以國、臺語溝通者與本人同意參與本研究；排除過去一年無急診就醫經驗者與不識字者，使用結構式問卷由研究者訪談來收集資料，內容包括基本資料、健康相關變項（疾病種類、服藥情形、跌倒經驗、營養狀態、認知功能狀態、日常生活活動功能）以及健康識能等三部分，資料分析方法採用獨立樣本t檢定、單因子變異數分析及皮爾森相關積差來探討健康識能之相關因素。研究結果發現，曾有急診就醫經驗老年人至急診就醫原因以消化系統疾病最多，心血管系統疾病次之；健康識能方面答對率最低的題項皆集中於文字閱讀能力部分，顯示文字閱讀能力有待加強，而影響曾有急診就醫經驗老年人健康識能之相關因素為年齡、教育程度、經濟狀況、認知功能狀態和日常生活活動功能，本研究結果可供後續發展提升曾有急診就醫經驗老年人健康識能相關介入措施之研究參考，如以圖片或影音代替文字提供相關資訊，降低其至急診就醫之風險。

This study explored health literacy and associated factors among older adults admitted to emergency departments (EDs). A cross-sectional research design was adopted. Participants were purposively selected with the inclusion criteria of being over 65 years of age, being clear conscious, being able to communicate in Mandarin or Taiwanese, and having agreed to participate in the study. Participants who had not been admitted to ED within the past year or who were illiterate were excluded. A battery of questionnaires was used to collect data, including demographics, health-related variables (diseases and medications, history of falls, nutritional status, cognition function, and physical activity), and the health literacy scale. Independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to analyze and interpret the study results. The results of this study indicated that digestive system disease and cardiovascular disease were the most common reasons for older adults to be admitted to ED. The findings also revealed that the reading comprehension domain of older adults' health literacy required improvement; and several factors were correlated with health literacy including age, educational level, economic status, cognition function, and physical activity. This study highlights the importance of health literacy among older adults admitted to ED by employing pictures or multimedia tools, instead of words, to provide health information; it also offers suggestions to decrease the risks of people requiring ED treatment.