Letramento em saúde de cuidadores de crianças pré escolares

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the health literacy conditions of caregivers of children aged 2 to 6 years, associated with social determinants of health. It is a quantitative, exploratory, and descriptive study conducted in four daycare centers (X, Y, W, Z) in a municipality in the interior of Rio Grande do Norte. A specific questionnaire based on the HLS-EU-Q6 was used to assess health literacy. The data were classified as adequate or inadequate through cluster analysis and canonical validation based on descriptive statistical analysis. In daycare X, 50% of participants showed sufficient literacy, while 46.87% had insufficient/problematic literacy. This was the only daycare where the sufficient level surpassed the problematic one. Daycares Z, Y, and W showed higher levels of problematic/deficient literacy (56.66%, 51.21%, and 50%, respectively). Daycare X also had the highest knowledge index on child nutrition (87.50%), followed by Y (82.92%), Z (83%), and W (72.72%). The analysis showed that in three of the four daycares, literacy is problematic/insufficient, indicating challenges in health care and a higher risk to the healthy development of children. Additionally, the higher the education level and income of the caregivers, the better their perception of health literacy and knowledge related to child nutrition.