Health Literacy of Mental Health Workers: A Latent Profile Analysis

Low health literacy is linked to poorer outcomes. Individuals with mental illness often have lower health literacy and engage in less healthy behaviours. Healthcare workers play an important role in supporting consumers' health literacy, but they may also have gaps in their own health literacy skills. This study aims to (a) explore the multidimensional health literacy profiles of mental health workers, (b) compare their health literacy to the Australian general population and (c) examine health behaviours within health literacy profiles. Participants were 338 mental health workers employed at an Australian community-based mental health treatment service. Multidimensional health literacy was measured using the Health Literacy Questionnaire. Latent profile analysis was used to identify multidimensional health literacy profiles. Three health literacy profiles were identified: lowest (23%), moderate (65%) and highest (12%). Workers in the lowest health literacy profile had significantly lower health literacy compared with the general population of Australia and were less likely to engage in physical activity and consume vegetables. Improving the health literacy of workers could improve their well-being and promote healthier behaviours among consumers. Workers with lower health literacy would benefit from greater support from education providers, services and the wider system prioritising health literacy improvements and training.