Health Literacy in Early Childhood Rearing of Parents in the Health Area 7

Abstract

This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to explore the health literacy in early childhood rearing of parents. The participants were 339 of early childhood parents in Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Mahasarakham and Roiet provinces during July – September, 2021 chosen based on consecutive sampling according to the specified properties. Data were collected by self questionnaire that CVI 0.97 and reliability 0.86. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The result showed that 56.7% were grandparents, 49.6% of parents had a fair and improved level of health literacy in the early childhood rearing. The samples with low level of the health literacy had 94.4% of cognitive knowledge and 49.6% of correct discrimination decisions in the early childhood rearing. The research suggested that the early childhood were not raised by their parents. The parents had inadequate HL in early childhood rearing. Therefore, jobs should be created in the community and subsidies for raising children to live with their parents. Emphasis should be placed on establishing knowledge and understanding among the parents in order to correct discriminating decisions in the early childhood upbringing, covering issues of eating, hugging, playing, storytelling, sleeping, dental care, provision for a safety environment, including proper emotional and behavior control.