Abstract:

Objective To investigate the current status of health literacy and influencing factors among primary school teachers in Xinjiang, thereby providing scientific evidence for strategies to improve teachers’health literacy and for the design of health promotion interventions.

Methods A combination of convenience and purposive sampling was employed to invite participation from 33 public primary schools across 10 prefectures, regions, and cities in Xinjiang. A total of 1 171 teachers were recruited. Data on demographic characteristics and health literacy were collected via an online questionnaire. Health literacy was assessed using the Health Literacy Assessment Questionnaire for Primary School Teachers, which consists of two domains: basic health literacy and health education literacy. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were conducted using SPSS 26.0.

Results A total of 1 101 valid questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 94.0%. The overall prevalence of adequate basic health literacy among those primary school teachers was 13.8% (152/1 101). Within this domain, the frequency of adequate literacy in healthy lifestyle and behavior was only 9.3% (102/1 101), while the basic health skills literacy was 45.4% (500/1 101) and basic health knowledge and concepts literacy was 55.5% (611/1 101), respectively. Adequate health education literacy was observed in 76.5% (842/1 101) of those teachers. Teachers reported diverse sources of health information, primarily traditional print media and online platforms. Regarding school-based health support resources, 47.96% of teachers reported the presence of a health guidance office, 40.76% indicated that their schools organized one to two health lectures or training sessions per semester, and 17.28% reported that their schools had never conducted health education activities. Logistic regression analysis revealed (1) male teachers and those aged 30 to 39 years had higher levels of basic health literacy compared with female teachers and those aged ≤ 29 years (OR =1.500 and 1.854, respectively; both P<0.05). Teachers with ≥ 5 years of work experience had lower basic health literacy compared with those with < 5 years (OR = 0.459, P<0.05). (2) Teachers aged ≥ 40 years and those serving concurrently as class advisors exhibited lower health education literacy (OR = 0.573, 0.709; both P<0.05). Teachers with adequate basic health literacy were more likely to have higher health education literacy (OR = 2.286, P<0.05).

Conclusions The overall level of basic health literacy among primary school teachers in Xinjiang was relatively low, with healthy lifestyle and behavior literacy being the weakest dimension. Teachers should strengthen their health knowledge and awareness, while educational authorities should prioritize the development of health-promoting schools, allocate dedicated health education staff, and provide supportive environments to comprehensively enhance teachers’health literacy.