Abstract:

This study has been conducted with the aim of to examine the health literacy levels of individuals with chronic diseases and the influencing factors. The descriptive study has been conducted with 125 patients who were hospitalized in a private university hospital and had been diagnosed with a chronic disease. The data have been collected with the “Personal Information Form” and the “Turkish Health Literacy Scale (THLS-32)”. The mean score of the individuals' health literacy scale was 32.05±9.15, and it was determined that 36% of them had a "problematic/limited" level of health literacy. Factors affecting the health literacy level of individuals have been found to be; "level of education, occupation, number of hospitalizations, availability to make an appointment without assistance, knowing which department to make an appointment from, sources used to access health information, performing breast self-exams, and paying attention to the interaction of the drug used with other drugs status”. (p<0.05). The results of the study show that the health literacy levels of people with chronic diseases are problematic and limited, and interventions that can increase health literacy are needed.

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