Table 3. Factors associated with limited health literacy (n = 469).
| Characteristics | Limited health literacy number (%) | Unadjusted odds ratio (95% CI) | Adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (in years) | |||
| ≥ 20 years (ref) | 233 (59.3) | ||
| < 20 years | 52 (68.4) | 1.5 (0.9–2.5) | 1.4 (0.8–2.5) |
| Gender | |||
| Male (ref) | 145 (56.9) | ||
| Female | 140 (65.4) | 1.4 (0.9–2.1) | 1.6 (1.1–2.5)* |
| Ethnicity | |||
| Brahmin/Chhetri (ref) | 208 (58.6) | ||
| Non-Brahmin/Chhetri | 77 (67.5) | 1.5 (0.9–2.3) | 1.4 (0.8–2.3) |
| Place of origin | |||
| Urban (ref) | 113 (61.1) | ||
| Rural | 172 (60.6) | 1.0 (0.7–1.5) | 1.0 (0.7–1.6) |
| Student’s sector | |||
| Health (ref) | 63 (50.8) | ||
| Non-health | 222 (64.3) | 1.7 (1.2–2.6)* | 1.9 (1.2–3.0)* |
| Academic year | |||
| Higher year (ref) | 120 (58.5) | ||
| Lower year | 165 (62.5) | 1.2 (0.8–1.7) | 0.9 (0.6–1.5) |
| Family type | |||
| Nuclear (ref) | 206 (61.1) | ||
| Joint/Extended | 79 (59.8) | 0.9 (0.6–1.4) | 0.7 (0.5–1.2) |
| Father’s education | |||
| Illiterate/No formal schooling (ref) | 26 (63.4) | ||
| Below secondary | 84 (61.8) | 1.2 (0.6–2.3) | 0.7 (0.3–1.6) |
| Secondary and above | 175 (59.9) | 1.1 (0.7–1.6) | 1.0 (0.6–1.7) |
| Mother’s education | |||
| Illiterate/No formal schooling (ref) | 70 (63.1) | ||
| Below secondary | 117 (60.6) | 1.2 (0.7–1.9) | 1.0 (0.5–1.9) |
| Secondary and above | 98 (59.4) | 1.1 (0.7–1.6) | 1.0 (0.6–1.7) |
| Self-rated health status | |||
| Satisfactory (ref) | 172 (52.8) | ||
| Unsatisfactory | 113 (79) | 3.4 (2.1–5.3)** | 2.8 (1.7–4.5)** |
| Self-rated financial status | |||
| Good (ref) | 247 (58.4) | ||
| Poor | 38 (82.6) | 3.4 (1.5–7.4)** | 2.9 (1.2–6.8)* |
| Self-rated self esteem | |||
| High (ref) | 182 (54) | ||
| Low | 103 (78) | 3.0 (1.9–4.8)** | 2.5 (1.5–4.1)** |
* indicates significance at p-value < 0.05,
** indicates significance at p-value < 0.001