Health Information Literacy among the Rural Women: a study of Kurukshetra District of Haryana
Abstract
The present study investigates the health information literacy among rural women of Kurukshetra district of Haryana. The main objectives of the study were to identify the health information needs, the information sources that rural women explore to meet their health information needs, their awareness level regarding the health support programs and the barriers in accessing the health information. Multistage sampling method has been used to collect the data using self-structured questionnaire along one-to-one interview. Total 150 questionnaires were distributed among women of 18 years and above.Total 121 were found valid for analysis. Findings of the study reveal that rural women have various health needs. However role of Public Libraries, Gram Panchayat Offices and NGOs is not satisfactory in disseminating health information.‘Lack of time’ and ‘No proper guidance & counselling’ were the main challenge in accessing health related information among the rural women.
Downloads
References
Abu Bakar, A. B., & Abdul Latef bin Alhadri, A. Y. (2009). Seeking access to health information: the dilemma of woman community in rural Malaysia. World Library and Information Congress: 75th IFLA General Conference and Council.
Amooh, P. A. (2017). Health literacy and self-perceived health status among street youth in Kumasi, Ghana. Cognent Medicine.
Bandyopadhyay, R.,Goswami, S., & Nausheen, S. (2009). Women’s Health Literacy and Health Promotion: our initiatives in West Bengal, India. World Library and Information Congress: 75th IFLA General Conference and Council.
Chaudhary, K. M., Muhammad, S., Saghir, A., & Ashraf, I. (2008).Rural Women’s Access to Various Sources of Information in Tehsil Faisalabad. J. Anim. Pl. Sci, 18, 99-101.
Devi, G., & Verma, S. (2020). Status of Health Literacy among Rural Women to Community Health Center of Sagar Region: A Survey. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 2(6), 572-576.
Ekoko, O. N. (2020). An Assessment of Health Information Literacy Among Rural Women In Delta State, Nigeria. Library Philosophy and Practice.
Gazibara, T., Kurtagic, I., Tepavcevic, D. K., Nurkovic, S., Kovacevic, N., Gazibara, T., &Pekmozovic, T. (2015). Computer and online health information literacy among Belgrade citizens aged 66–89 years. Health Promotion International, 335-343.
Harris, R., &Wathen, N. (2006). ”If My Mother was Alive I’d Probably Have Called Her.” Women’s Search for Health Information in Rural Canada. American Library Association.
Health Literacy in India: A Unique Challenge. (2016). In Health Education Library for People (p. Chapter 13).
Kapur, R. (n.d.). Factors Affecting the Health Consciousness among the Rural Women.
Lee, S. S., Choi, Y. S., Lee, D. S., & Nam, S. H. (2017). A study on the health literacy of the elderly in rural area. Biomed Res, 28(17), 7567-7573.
National Rural Health Association Policy Brief. (2005). Rural Women’s Health. NRHA.
Nied Zwidzka, B. (2013). Health information literacy as an increasingly important component of health l i t e r a cy. PolskieTowarzystwo Higjeniczne, 123(1), 98-103.
Nnah, I. (2018). Information Literacy: A Catalyst for Health Information Seeking and Empowerment among Women in Rural Communities in Nigeria. Universidad Complutense Madrid.
Odini, S. (2013). Accessibility and Utilization of Health Information by Rural Women in Vihiga County, Kenya. International Journal of Science and Research, 5(7), 827-834.
Patrick, I. O., & Ferdinand, O. A. (2016). Rural Women and their Information Seeking Behavior. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/ 188104574.pdf
Qin, L., & Xu, H. (2016). A cross-sectional study of the effect of health literacy on diabetes prevention and control among elderly individuals with prediabetes in rural China. Open Access, 1-9.
Tsai, H. M., Cheng, C. Y., Chang, S. C., Yang, Y. M., &Wang, H. H. (2014). Health Literacy and Health-Promoting Behaviors among Multiethnic Groups of Women in Taiwan. The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, 43.
UNESCO. (2016). Promoting Health and Literacy for Women’s Empowerment. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. 20.Yates, C., Partidge, H., & Bruce, C. (2013). Learning wellness: how ageing Australians experience health information literacy. The Australian Library Journal, 269-285.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Journal of Indian Library Association
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
