Investigation of health literacy and some related factors of 4th grade students in a university

Year 2019, Volume: 12 Issue: 1, 48 - 59, 28.04.2019

Serhat Özdenk Gülcan Demir , Lütfiye Hilal Özcebe , Sarp Üner

https://doi.org/10.26559/mersinsbd.412666

Cited By: 3

Abstract

Aim: The
aim of the study was to examine the health literacy level and some related
factors of the 4th grade students of a university. Methods: The universe of this cross-sectional type was consisted of
353 students who were educated in the departments of a university during spring
semester of 2014-2015 academic years. 283 students were reached in the survey
(80.1%). The data collection tool includes several socio-demographic
characteristics of the participants, “Test of Functional Health Literacy in
Adults” and some variables that were thought to be related to the health
literacy. Data was evaluated using SPSS 23.0 statistical software. Descriptive
statistics was used in the summary of the data, Chi-square and Mann Whitney-U
tests were used in the intergroup comparisons and logistic regression model was
used in the analyzes. Results: The
ages of the participants ranged from 21 to 32 years with an average age of
23.1± 1.6 years and 61.0% were females. It has been identified as the average
score of “Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults” of the participants’
were 74.4±14.4 and 60.4% of them had sufficient health literacy level. There
was no difference in health literacy scores based on the socio-demographic
characteristics of the participants. According to the logistic regression
model, the health literacy scores of health services users’ in the last six
months were 1.7 times higher than those who did not use (95% CI=1.1-2.9). Conclusion: Health literacy levels of
two out of every five participants were insufficient. This result was noteworthy
when it’s thought that the working group was composed of university students.
It is of great importance for providing educational programs to raise health
awareness, health responsibilities and awareness in order to acquire, interpret
and understand basic health information and services in the context of
increasing the level of health literacy, especially focusing on youth, in the
context of assessing health literacy levels.

Keywords

Health literacy, universities, students, health services

Bir üniversitenin 4. sınıf öğrencilerinin sağlık okuryazarlığı ve ilişkili bazı faktörlerin incelenmesi

Abstract

Amaç: Çalışmada bir üniversitenin 4. sınıf öğrencilerinin sağlık
okuryazarlığı düzeyi ve ilişkili bazı faktörlerin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Kesitsel tipte olan bu
epidemiyolojik araştırmanın evrenini bir üniversitenin bazı bölümlerinde
2014-2015 bahar döneminde eğitim gören 353 öğrenci oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada
283 öğrenciye ulaşılmıştır (%80.1). Veri toplama aracı, katılımcıların çeşitli
sosyo-demografik özelliklerini, “Yetişkinlerde İşlevsel Sağlık Okuryazarlığı
Testi” ve sağlık okuryazarlığıyla ilişkili olduğu düşünülen bazı değişkenleri
içermektedir. Verilerin değerlendirilmesi SPSS 23.0 programı kullanılarak
yapılmış, verilerin özetlenmesinde tanımlayıcı istatistikler, gruplar arası
karşılaştırmalarda Ki-kare testi ile Mann Whitney-U testi ve analizlerde
lojistik regresyon modellemesi kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Katılımcıların yaşları 21 ile 32 arasında değişmekte olup
yaş ortalamaları 23.1±1.6 yıldır ve %61.0’ı kadındır. Katılımcıların “Yetişkinlerde
İşlevsel Sağlık Okuryazarlığı Testi” puan ortalaması 74.4±14.4’dür ve %60.4’ünün
sağlık okuryazarlığı düzeyi yeterli olarak belirlenmiştir. Katılımcıların
sosyo-demografik özelliklerine göre sağlık okuryazarlığı puanları arasında
farklılık saptanmamıştır. Lojistik regresyon modeline göre son altı ayda sağlık
hizmeti kullananların sağlık okuryazarlığı puanları, kullanmayanlara göre 1.7
kat daha yüksektir (%95 GA=1.1-2.9). Sonuç:
Her beş katılımcıdan ikisinin sağlık okuryazarlığı düzeyi yetersizdir ve
çalışma grubunun üniversite öğrencileri olduğu düşünüldüğünde bu sonuç dikkat
çekicidir. Sağlık okuryazarlığı düzeyinin yükseltilmesinde özellikle gençlere
odaklanarak, sağlık okuryazarlığı düzeylerini değerlendirme kapsamında temel
sağlık bilgilerini ve hizmetlerini edinebilme, yorumlayabilme ve
anlayabilmeleri açısından sağlıklı yaşam biçimi kazandırmaya, sağlık
sorumluluklarını ve bilinçlerini artırmaya yönelik eğitici programlar sunulması
büyük önem taşımaktadır. 

Keywords

Sağlık okuryazarlığı, üniversiteler, öğrenciler, sağlık hizmetleri

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