TY - JOUR T1 - Media Usage, Health Literacy, Health Anxiety, and Health Behaviors of University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic TT - COVID-19 Pandemi Döneminde Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Medya Kullanımı, Sağlık Okuryazarlığı, Sağlık Kaygısı ve Sağlık Davranışları AU - Demirtepe-saygılı, Dilek AU - Eşiyok, Elif AU - Turancı, Eda PY - 2021 DA - December DO - 10.17829/turcom.862102 JF - Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi JO - TURCOM PB - Marmara University WT - DergiPark SN - 2630-6220 SP - 19 EP - 34 IS - 38 LA - en AB - Living with the pandemic influenced people’s lifestyles and health behaviors as well as their use of media.The aim of this study is to investigate the level of change in health behaviors of university students duringthe COVID-19 pandemic. The changes in health behaviors refer to changes of mainly eating and exercisebehaviors to stay healthy. In this study, media use, health literacy and health perception are the determinantsof change in health behaviors; health anxiety and healthy living skills are considered as mediating variables.Questionnaires were filled in by 392 university students in Ankara, Turkey within the second month ofthe pandemic. According to the findings, as the levels of positive perception of health, health literacy level,health anxiety level, and healthy life skills increase, the level of change in health behavior increases. Thepath analysis revealed that more positive perceptions of health and higher levels of health literacy are relatedto higher levels of change in health behaviors through the mediation of healthy life skills. In addition, theuse of Twitter increases health anxiety during the pandemic and results in a higher level of change in healthbehaviors. The findings help to better understand the motivations to change health behaviors for selfprotectionagainst the COVID-19 among university students. KW - COVID-19 KW - Health Anxiety KW - Perception of Health KW - Health Literacy KW - Healthy Life Skills KW - University Students N2 - Pandemi süreci insanların yaşam tarzlarını ve sağlık davranışlarını etkilerken aynı zamanda medyakullanımlarını da etkilemiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, COVID-19 salgını sırasında üniversite öğrencilerininsağlık davranışlarındaki değişimi incelemektir. Sağlık davranışındaki değişiklik, beslenme ve egzersizalışkanlıklarındaki değişiklikler anlamına gelmektedir. Bu çalışmada medya kullanımı, sağlık okuryazarlığıve sağlık algısı, sağlık davranışlarındaki değişimin belirleyicileri olarak; sağlık kaygısı ve sağlıklı yaşambecerileri ise aracı değişken olarak ele alınmıştır. Pandeminin ikinci ayında Ankara ilindeki üniversitelerdeöğrenim gören 392 üniversite öğrencisine anket uygulanmıştır. Bulgulara göre olumlu sağlık algısı, sağlıkokuryazarlığı düzeyi, sağlık kaygısı düzeyi ve sağlıklı yaşam becerileri arttıkça sağlık davranışlarındakideğişim de artmaktadır. Yol analizi bulgularına göre daha olumlu sağlık algısı ve yüksek sağlıkokuryazarlığı düzeyi, sağlıklı yaşam becerileri aracılığı ile sağlık davranışlarında daha yüksek düzeydedeğişiklik sağlamaktadır. Ayrıca, Twitter kullanımı pandemi sürecinde sağlık kaygısını arttırarak, sağlıkdavranışlarındaki değişimi arttırmıştır. Bulgular, üniversite öğrencilerinin COVID-19’dan korunmak içinsağlık davranışlarını değiştirme motivasyonlarının daha iyi anlaşılmasına yardımcı olmuştur. CR - Abdel-Latif M. (2020). The enigma of health literacy and COVID-19 pandemic. Public Health, 185, 95–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2020.06.030 CR - Abel, T., & McQueen, D. (2020). Critical health literacy and the COVID-19 crisis. 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