Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Human Factors
Date Submitted: Mar 3, 2022
Date Accepted: Oct 6, 2022
Food Delivery Drivers’ Health Literacy Regarding COVID-19 Prevention and Protective Behaviors during the Pandemic: A Cross-sectional Survey in Southern Thailand
ABSTRACT
Background:
In 2019, coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) spread worldwide, causing a pandemic that has posed unprecedented challenges and pressure on health systems and economies. Food delivery services have become an important medium for consumer food purchases to limit human-to-human contact. Thus, delivery drivers are at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection at work. To the authors’ knowledge, no studies have analyzed the dimensions of health literacy (HL) regarding COVID-19 prevention in this population.
Objective:
To explore the HL status of COVID-19 prevention and its associated factors among food delivery drivers in southern Thailand.
Methods:
Following an online cross-sectional survey from July to August 2021, Thai food delivery drivers in the upper-south and lower-south regions of southern Thailand were recruited to participate during the compulsory COVID-19 lockdown. An online structured questionnaire was administered verbally and recorded by the interviewer. Univariate and multivariate linear regressions were used to explore independently associated factors.
Results:
Of 401 drivers, 291 (72.6%) were men. The median age was 31 years (range: 19–64 years). The median number of months working as a driver was 12 months, and the median number of working hours was nine hours per day. The median number of daily food orders was 20, while the median daily income was 600 Thai baht. Social media (Facebook and Line) was a common source of health information. The most common information required was about the COVID-19 vaccine, medications, and treatment. Most drivers (285/401, 71.1%) had excellent HL levels regarding COVID-19 prevention. Only the practical application of information was statistically correlated with behavior. Drivers in the lower-south of Thailand were more likely to have excellent HL than other drivers. Those who accessed information through YouTube and relatives were less likely to have excellent HL levels.
Conclusions:
Understanding HL among food delivery drivers would be useful for planning effective interventions that target this population. Conventional health education through social media alone may not be effective at educating people about COVID-19 prevention. Information literacy skills could determine individuals’ HL and drivers’ behaviors.
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