%0 Journal Article
%T Social Support, Health Literacy, and Health Care Utilization Among Older Adults
%A Hui-Ping Xue
%A Ping Hou
%A Xin-E Mao
%A Yong-Bing Liu
%A Yong-Nan Li
%J Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health
%@ 1941-2479
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1010539519851674
%X The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between social support, health literacy, and health care utilization in older Chinese adults. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Data were collected from 32 nursing homes from Urumqi in Xinjiang of China. A total of 1486 respondents completed a pack of questionnaires. The average health literacy level of older adults in nursing homes was relatively low, only 73.68 ¡À 29.42 points; the average social support level was also relatively low, only 31.42 ¡À 7.12 points (lower than domestic norm of Chinese residents, P < .001). Both values were below the midpoint for the overall population, indicating a sample with below-average levels of healthy literacy and social support. Low social support levels are associated with poor health literacy and greater likelihood of hospital admission (P < .05). Social support was significantly associated with health literacy. Improving the quantity and quality of social support may be an effective means to obtain better health literacy and lower hospital admissions
%K health literacy
%K hospital admissions
%K nursing homes
%K social support
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1010539519851674