Abstract: TH-PO1139
Fear of COVID-19 after Vaccination Dissemination and Its Relationship with Multidimensional Health Literacy among Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis
Session Information
- COVID-19
October 24, 2024 | Location: Exhibit Hall, Convention Center
Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Category: Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- 000 Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Authors
- Kawaji, Atsuro, Kameda Medical Center, Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan
- Inanaga, Ryohei, Fukushima Kenritsu Ika Daigaku, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
- Toishi, Takumi, Kameda Medical Center, Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan
- Matsunami, Masatoshi, Kameda Medical Center, Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan
- Suzuki, Tomo, Fukushima Kenritsu Ika Daigaku, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
- Toida, Tatsunori, Fukushima Kenritsu Ika Daigaku, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
- Kurita, Noriaki, Fukushima Kenritsu Ika Daigaku, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan
Background
A worldwide increase in anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been suggested to contribute to unhealthy lifestyle habits and depression among patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD).
However, the degree of fear of COVID-19 after vaccination dissemination remains to be quantified.
In addition, the independent impact of high-order health literacy (HL) on fear of COVID-19 has not been adequately investigated.
Methods
This was a multicenter cross-sectional study conducted in 2022 after the vaccination against COVID-19 became widely available in Japan.
The subjects were adults receiving in-center HD.
The exposure was multidimensional HL measured by the 14-item Functional, Communicative, and Critical Health Literacy scale.
The outcome was the fear of COVID-19 measured by the 7-item Japanese version of the Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S; total score range 7-35 pts: higher scores indicate stronger fear).
Differences in FCV-19S scores among the HD patients and those among Japanese adults in April 2020 (i.e., the beginning of the endemic) reported in the development paper were compared using the unpaired t-test.
The association between multidimensional HL and FCV-19S scores was estimated using a multivariable-adjusted general linear model.
Results
In total, 446 HD patients were analyzed. Of these, 431 (96%) and 9 (2%) had received three and two doses of vaccination, respectively.
Their FCV-19S scores were significantly lower than those of the general population at the beginning of the endemic (P < 0.001; mean difference -4.4 [95% confidence interval (CI): -5.1 to -3.7]; standardized effect size [ES] 0.77).
Higher functional HL was associated with less fear (per 1-pt higher: -1.0 [95% CI: -1.7 to -0.3]; standardized ES -0.18).
In contrast, higher critical HL was associated with stronger fear (per 1-pt higher: 2.0 [95% CI: 0.9 to 3.2]; standardized ES 0.36).
Communicative HL was not associated with fear.
Conclusion
Even after widespread of vaccination, patients’ fear due to low functional HL can be reduced by providing health information in an easy-to-understand manner.
For patients with skepticism to correct information and strong fear due to excessive critical HL, honest explanations by healthcare providers may be important.