Health Literacy in Early Childhood Parenting Among Caregivers in Health Region 7

Abstract

This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to examine the health literacy in early childhood parenting among caregivers. The study sample consisted of 339 primary caregivers of children aged 0–5 years from the provinces of Roi Et, Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, and Kalasin. Participants were selected through consecutive sampling based on predefined criteria during July–September 2020. Data were collected using a questionnaire with a content validity index (CVI) of 0.97 and a reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s alpha) of 0.86. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The findings revealed that 56.7% of the children were cared for by grandparents. In terms of health literacy in early childhood parenting, 49.6% of caregivers demonstrated fair or insufficient levels. Specifically, 94.4% showed low health literacy in terms of knowledge and understanding of early childhood care, and 49.6% had low literacy in making appropriate caregiving decisions. The study highlights that a significant proportion of young children are not cared for by their parents, and that nearly half of the caregivers possess inadequate health literacy. It is therefore recommended to promote community-based initiatives and provide child-rearing financial support to enable children to live with their parents. Interventions should focus on strengthening caregivers’ understanding to support informed decision-making in areas such as nutrition, physical affection, play, storytelling, sleep, oral health, safe environments, and appropriate emotional and behavioral regulation.