Comparison of Health Literacy of the Population in Germany between 2014 and 2020

Aim This article compares the results of two health literacy (HL) surveys of the population in Germany over time. The first survey was conducted in 2014, the second in 2020. The changes in GK, measured by the degree of subjectively assessed difficulties in individual information tasks in the three areas of health care, prevention, health promotion, in the total population and in subgroups are examined. Methodology The analyses were based on population-representative cross-sectional data collected in 2014 and 2020. An internationally coordinated questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) was used to measure GK. Changes in the population groups were analysed uni- and bivariately as well as multivariately in a trend analysis. Results The HL of the German population has worsened statistically significantly within six years. This can be observed in all three overall domains. This effect was particularly evident among people with low social status and financial deprivation. Conclusion Over time, dealing with health and disease-related information has become more difficult. As this development is mainly driven by socioeconomically disadvantaged population groups, it has apparently increased social inequality in the health sector. Promoting HL - as this and other studies show - is more important for the society than ever and should be given special attention in relation to the above-mentioned population groups.