Information Mastering, Perceived Health and Societal Status: An Empirical Study of the Finnish Population

Health education programmes are generally based on the assumption that health-promoting knowledge and corresponding behaviour are automatically created as people are subjected to a rich flow of information. Improved knowledge is, however, not the same as good behaviour. Information is not synonymous with knowledge; neither is the transformation of knowledge into behaviour a simple or linear process. There are indications of gaps among the different strata of population in society, with some groups being able to gain more from societal efforts than others. In health matters, health literacy skills, i.e. health information mastering, has been emphasised as a crucial asset. The aim of this paper is to show the links that exist between an individual's everyday life information mastering, subjective health status and social position. The objective is also to provide an introduction to the theory of the sense of coherence. A particular aim is to point out the close relationship between the sense of coherence and information mastering. The results show clearly that there is a very strong social determinant in health. The relationship between the sense of coherence and self-rated health is also very strong, as well as the relationship between the sense of coherence and self-rated social class. According to the results of this study, and also as the theory predicts, the sense of coherence seems to be rooted in the ability to manage, cope with, and process information – that is, in information mastering.