Canadian Men’s Health Literacy: A Nationally Representative Study

Abstract

Though men’s health promotion has attracted increased research attention, conspicuously absent have been empirical insights to health literacy levels within and across male subgroups. Recent advancements in the measurement of health literacy have made available avenues for evaluating individual and social determinants of health literacy. Important insights can be drawn to detail patterns and diversity among men as a means to informing the design, implementation, and evaluation of tailored health promotion programs. Drawing on 2000 Canada-based men’s responses to the Health Literacy Questionnaire, correlations between demographic variables and six health literacy scales are described. Low income, low education, and living alone were associated with men’s low health literacy, with the strongest effect sizes for the “Social support for health” and “Actively engaged with health care professionals” scales. Multiple linear regressions confirmed low income as the strongest predictor of men’s low health literacy in all the scales except “Appraisal of health information.” Low income, self-identifying as gay, bisexual, or other, and living alone were strongly predictive of low scores on the “Social support for health” scale. The findings affirm the importance of considering men’s health literacy and inequities to advance effective men’s health promotion programs.