Organised By
Organised By
1 International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur; 2 Klinik Kesihatan Seremban, Seremban
Abstract
Health literacy, numeracy and food portion estimation skills are important factors in managing diabetes. However, there is limited data on these factors among Malaysian adults with diabetes.
The objective of this study is to describe the state of health literacy, numeracy, and food portioning skills of adults with Type 2 Diabetes.
This is a cross-sectional study conducted at Klinik Kesihatan Seremban, Seremban. Health literacy status was assessed using the Literacy Assessment for Diabetes questionnaire. The Diabetes Numeracy Test was administered to assess numeracy status. A sub-sample of subjects were asked to serve specified amounts of carbohydrate-rich food, and were considered to have accurate portioning skills if their estimation was within ±25% of the reference serving.
The 201 subjects enrolled in this study had a median(IQR) age of 57(10) years. Most, 78% had obesity (BMI ≥ 25) while 52% had poor glycaemic control (HbA1c > 8%). The majority, 75% had health literacy equivalent to Form Three level or higher. The median(IQR) numeracy score of the subjects was 50(50), indicative of poor numeracy. Of the 31 subjects involved in the food portioning assessment, 13% were accurate when asked to serve food in amounts containing 15g of carbohydrate.
This study subjects had good health literacy skills but poor numeracy and carbohydrate-rich food portioning skills.