Health literacy profiles in parents of children with congenital colorectal disorders: A cluster analysis.

AIM: To identify and describe health literacy (HL) profiles and possible associations with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics among parents of children with congenital colorectal conditions.

METHODS

Parents (n = 269) of children with Hirschsprung disease (HD) or anorectal malformation (ARM) completed the Health Literacy Questionnaire-parent version (HLQ-p) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Ward's hierarchical clustering was used to identify clusters across the nine HLQ-p domains. Ethical approval was obtained.

RESULTS

Four parental HL profiles were identified. Cluster 1 (n = 75, 28%) showed consistently low HL across all domains, with particular difficulties in information appraisal and social support. This cluster had the lowest self-efficacy, lower educational attainment, nearly half were non-native speakers, and half were not living with the child's other parent. Cluster 2 (n = 57, 21%) demonstrated moderate HL, but distinct challenges in information appraisal. Many had high education, cohabitated, and were native-speaking households. This group had the highest prevalence of child comorbidity. Cluster 3 (n = 109, 41%) exhibited generally high HL and strong engagement with healthcare providers, but struggled with information appraisal. Self-efficacy was high, and most parents lived with the child's other parent. Cluster 4 (n = 28, 10%) had the highest HL and self-efficacy, a high proportion of parents with high education and universal cohabitation.

CONCLUSION

Nearly half of the parents exhibit low HL, including many with traditionally advantageous sociodemographic characteristics. Language diversity and child comorbidity amplified HL challenges, and difficulties in evaluating and applying health information were common across all parent groups.