Patterns of health literacy among vulnerable unemployed citizens. A cross-sectional study in a Danish municipality

Patterns of health literacy among vulnerable unemployed citizens. A cross-sectional study in a Danish municipality | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Patterns of health literacy among vulnerable unemployed citizens. A cross-sectional study in a Danish municipality Maria Nivi Schmidt Petersen, Carl Johannes Middelboe, Ole Steen Mortensen, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6262671/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Poor health and related health literacy (HL) can make it challenging for unemployed people to enter the labour market. This study aimed to identify HL intervention targets by mapping HL challenges among vulnerable unemployed citizens in Høje Taastrup municipality in Denmark. Methods: The citizens completed questionnaires on HL and sociodemographic characteristics. We used descriptive statistics to calculate the proportion of HL challenges and characterize the participants. A latent class analysis was performed to group individuals with similar HL challenges. Results: A total of 86 citizens were included in the study with a median age of 51.5 and 73.3% being female. The most frequent HL challenge was “Navigating the healthcare system” (87.2%). Two distinct classes were identified: one with few HL challenges and one with many challenges. Participants belonging to the class with many HL challenges were characterized by having lower socioeconomic positions and more health limitations compared to citizens in class with few HL challenges. Conclusions: Interventions that can improve 1) the HL in vulnerable unemployed citizens and 2) the system’s ability to accommodate citizens with poor HL are possible and could improve the health of the citizens and thus their labor market prospects. Depending on the target group, these should have a broad HL focus or a more specific focus on navigating the healthcare system. Health Literacy Vulnerable Populations Unemployment Surveys and Questionnaires Latent Class Analysis Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 24 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 12 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 Apr, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Apr, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 03 Apr, 2025 Editor invited by journal 25 Mar, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Mar, 2025 First submitted to journal 24 Mar, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6262671","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":446405504,"identity":"a5cbd352-b95a-4375-9000-4cb735a8afa3","order_by":0,"name":"Maria Nivi Schmidt Petersen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Southern Denmark","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maria","middleName":"Nivi Schmidt","lastName":"Petersen","suffix":""},{"id":446405505,"identity":"ccbab142-d9f0-413f-887b-b6dfaf094203","order_by":1,"name":"Carl Johannes Middelboe","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Southern Denmark","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Carl","middleName":"Johannes","lastName":"Middelboe","suffix":""},{"id":446405506,"identity":"6d00956e-f5e9-4bd0-a6e0-d8490e634dae","order_by":2,"name":"Ole Steen Mortensen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Copenhagen","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ole","middleName":"Steen","lastName":"Mortensen","suffix":""},{"id":446405507,"identity":"9858acb4-28ea-4627-aef8-ee49cb27b7cd","order_by":3,"name":"Rikke Fredenslund Krølner","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Southern Denmark","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rikke","middleName":"Fredenslund","lastName":"Krølner","suffix":""},{"id":446405508,"identity":"8562034c-e529-446c-9a8b-60e878a91ae7","order_by":4,"name":"Tine Tjørnhøj-Thomsen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Southern Denmark","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tine","middleName":"","lastName":"Tjørnhøj-Thomsen","suffix":""},{"id":446405509,"identity":"b0e62413-5c75-43ec-8ae7-bfcf9c3c01b6","order_by":5,"name":"Annette Kjaer Ersbøll","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Southern Denmark","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Annette","middleName":"Kjaer","lastName":"Ersbøll","suffix":""},{"id":446405510,"identity":"d39d2953-14c7-40d6-8fcc-2bf942e0e93e","order_by":6,"name":"Esben Boeskov Øzhayat","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAsklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCSD+AGIcYAMSbAnEaWGcQbIWZh6StPBLNx/+bPPncB7fAbY0CYayNMJaJOccSzDObTtcLHmA7ZgEw7kcwloMbuQYJOc2HE7ccIC9TYKxrYKwFnuglsMWf0jRYiCRY9jMwAbSAnQYYxsRDpO4cyyZsbctPXHmYbZki4RzRHiff3bz4Q8//lgn9h1vM7zxoSyZsBYEYAbiBFI0jIJRMApGwSjADQCJLjp+aN80JAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Copenhagen","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Esben","middleName":"Boeskov","lastName":"Øzhayat","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-19 14:53:09","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6262671/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6262671/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24070-8","type":"published","date":"2025-09-24T15:57:12+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":92430429,"identity":"8547734b-17b4-45fb-a590-0e170f4cfb53","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-29 16:03:36","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":337255,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptBMCvs.2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6262671/v1_covered_f6cd1688-6f37-4604-8889-c142011d4dcb.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Patterns of health literacy among vulnerable unemployed citizens. 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This study aimed to identify HL intervention targets by mapping HL challenges among vulnerable unemployed citizens in Høje Taastrup municipality in Denmark.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMethods: The citizens completed questionnaires on HL and sociodemographic characteristics. We used descriptive statistics to calculate the proportion of HL challenges and characterize the participants. A latent class analysis was performed to group individuals with similar HL challenges.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eResults: A total of 86 citizens were included in the study with a median age of 51.5 and 73.3% being female. The most frequent HL challenge was “Navigating the healthcare system” (87.2%). Two distinct classes were identified: one with few HL challenges and one with many challenges. Participants belonging to the class with many HL challenges were characterized by having lower socioeconomic positions and more health limitations compared to citizens in class with few HL challenges.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConclusions: Interventions that can improve 1) the HL in vulnerable unemployed citizens and 2) the system’s ability to accommodate citizens with poor HL are possible and could improve the health of the citizens and thus their labor market prospects. Depending on the target group, these should have a broad HL focus or a more specific focus on navigating the healthcare system.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Patterns of health literacy among vulnerable unemployed citizens. 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