title: Explaining selected health behaviors in a national sample of Taiwanese adults.
abstract: Extant research provides little evidence about how health literacy, self-efficacy and health locus of control are related to each other in affecting health behaviors. The purposes of this study were to examine the associations among health literacy, self-efficacy and health locus of control and how the three factors are related to health behaviors using data from a national survey of Taiwanese adults. The analysis showed moderate correlations among health literacy, self-efficacy and locus of control, suggesting that they were independent, albeit correlated, factors. Moreover, we found in most cases that health literacy, self-efficacy and locus of control had independent associations with health behaviors. Of the three factors, self-efficacy had the most consistent and positive associations with health behaviors. Our findings suggest that efforts to promote and sustain health behaviors need to focus on improving individuals' emotional states and correcting their faulty self-beliefs and habits of thinking. Health education campaigns and enhancement of literacy skills alone may not achieve the desirable goal of behavioral change.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tzu-I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA sylee@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Shoou-Yih Daniel
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Welfare Policy, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Tsai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013624:Taiwan
keywords: community based; health behavior; health literacy; self-efficacy