Abstract:

Objective: The mortality rate for breast cancer for people under the age of 50 is decreasing, and health literacy is increasingly understood as important for cancer awareness and screening behavior. The aim of this study was to address the relationship between health literacy levels and breast cancer knowledge and screening attitudes of women. Method: The study was cross-sectional, and conducted in two primary healthcare centers in Turkey. The Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy Measurement (REALM) and Adult Health Literacy Scale (AHLS) were used for health literacy level assessment. Results: The mean age of the participants was 49.62±8.43 years. The mean score of the women for REALM was 61.59±4.97 and the mean AHLS score of women was 19.55±2.64 (min-max=0-23). The women who had inadequate health literacy levels had the lowest Breast cancer knowledge score (BCKS) (6.00±2.82). Of the women, 38.2% (n=191) reported that they received breast cancer information from TV, whereas 31.7% (n=102) received information from their doctors. Conclusion: Low health literacy levels seem to be an important barrier for breast cancer knowledge, affecting screening attitudes and the source of knowledge among women.

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