Inequalities in health literacy – spatial and educational aspects

Abstract

Health literacy is the ability of an individual to “read health” by accessing information and using it effectively to maintain good health. This is manifested by understanding the content provided in medical information, the ability to use medical services and then respecting the recommendations of professionals. However, there are numerous inequalities here. These inequalities are related both to the type of education (differences between students studying in different types of schools) and space, and not only between regions, but also within regions, i.e. between young people living in cities and those living in rural areas.
The aim of the article is to indicate the inequalities regarding the health literacy of adult learning youths in the Mazowieckie voivodeship, taking into account the type of education: general secondary schools, technical and industry schools, as well as the spatial arrangement (urban – rural) and the presentation of the diagnostic (research) survey: “Youth of Mazowsze”. The thesis of the study is the statement that inequalities in health behaviours depend on the type of education and on spatial differences. The study was carried out among young people studying in secondary schools in 2017/2018. The research tool here is the author’s questionnaire designed for the purpose of the research, to be used in an auditorium interview. Based on the study in the field of health literacy, it was assessed how the type of education affects the assessment of one’s own health and the awareness of the possibility of shaping it by one’s own behaviour, where individual selected behaviours were taken into account, and then the differentiation of these behaviours between the city and the countryside.
In the light of the “Youth of Mazowsze” study, one can observe among the respondents of the Mazowieckie Voivodship, especially from trade schools, a general, relatively lower assessment of their own health and health behaviours compared to the rest of the surveyed youth. However, there were no differences between the city and the countryside.