THE IMPACT OF HEALTH LITERACY LEVEL ON HEALTH PERCEPTION: A RESEARCH ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to determine the relationship between the health literacy levels of university students and their health perception and to reveal the effect of health literacy level on health perception. The universe of the study consists of students studying at the Faculty of Health Sciences of a foundation university in the province of Istanbul in the 2018-2019 academic year. The Health Literacy Scale and Health Perception Scale were applied by reaching 311 students with the easy sampling method. The data obtained by face to face questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS program. As a result of the analysis made with the relational screening model, positive and negative significant relationships were found between students’ health literacy levels and their perception of health. Accordingly, the effect of health literacy on health perception can be mentioned. In addition, it was concluded that access to and understanding information increase students’ perception of health. In this context, it is recommended to work on improving the health literacy skills and health perception levels of university students.