Health literacy in elderly people: A quantitative research example from the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey

Year 2021, Volume: 19 Issue: 1, 41 - 54, 23.04.2021

Cagla Yıgıtbas Fatma Genç

https://doi.org/10.20518/tjph.700390

Cited By: 2

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine the health literacy status of people
aged 65 and over in Turkey. Methods: This study is descriptive and cross-sectional.
The population consisted of people aged 65 and over living in the centre of a province.
2017 data from the Turkish Statistical Institute were used for the sample size.
Following the calculations, sampling was taken from 486 people. Data were collected
between January and May 2018. Ethical permission was obtained prior to the study.
Participants were selected according to the improbable method among those who
came to primary health institutions. A survey form was used as a data collection tool.
The first part of the form determined the socio-demographic characteristics of the
participants. TSOY-32 was used in the second section. A score 0 indicated the lowest
HL and the score 50 indicated the highest HL in the scale. Results: The average score
of the study participants in the ‘Turkey Health Literacy-32’ test was 24.40 ± 7.70. In
this study, score means were high among people with regular health checks, those
who did not use unprescribed medication, those who quit smoking, who exercised
regularly and who had adequate nutrition. Conclusion: Health literacy of individuals
aged 65 and over was found to be inadequate.

Keywords

Elderly, health literacy, quantitative research

Supporting Institution

Giresun University Scientific Research Project Unit (GRU: SAĞ-BAP-160317-77) has financed this research.

Project Number

SAĞ-BAP-160317-77

Thanks

The authors would like to thank all the parents who participated in the study

Yaşlılarda sağlık okuryazarlığı: Türkiye Doğu Karadeniz örneğinde nicel bir araştırma

Abstract

Amaç: Araştırmanın amacı 65 yaş ve üşüt kişilerin sağlık okuryazarlığını belirlemektir.
Yöntem: Araştırma tanımlayıcı kesitsel tiptedir. Evren bir ilin merkezinde yaşayan
65 yaş ve üstü kişilerden oluşmaktadır. Örneklem büyüklüğü için Türkiye İstatistik
Kurumunun 2017 verileri kullanılmıştır. Hesaplamalar sonrası örnekleme 486
kişi alınmıştır. Veriler ocak-Mayıs 2018 arasında toplanmıştır. Katılımcılar birinci
basamak sağlık kurumlarına gelenler arasından olasılıksız yönteme göre seçilmiştir.
Veri toplama aracı olarak anket formu kullanılmıştır. Formun ilk bölümü katılımcıların
sosyo-demografik özelliklerini saptamaktadır. İkinci bölümde TSOY-32 kullanılmıştır.
Çalışma; Ocak-Mayıs 2018 tarihleri arasında yürütülmüştür. Araştırmanın evrenini İlin
Merkezinde yaşayan yaşlı nüfus oluşturmuştur. Bulgular: Araştırmadaki katılımcılar
için “Türkiye Sağlık Okuryazarlığı-32 Ölçeği” genel toplam puan ortalaması 24.40 ±
7.70 olup yetersiz SOY kategorisindedir. Bu araştırmada ölçeğin; genel, boyut ve süreç
puan ortalama indekslerinin; yaş arttıkça düşme gösterdiği, erkeklerde, yaşamının
çoğunluğunu kentsel alanda geçirenlerde, eğitim düzeyi yüksek olanlarda, evlilerde,
halen çalışıyor olanlarda, ailede alınan kararlara katılıyor olanlarda yüksek olduğu
tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç: Araştırmada ölçeğin genel puan ortalama indeksinin; düzenli
sağlık kontrolü yaptıranlarda, reçetesiz ilaç kullanma alışkanlığı olmayanlarda,
sigarayı bırakmış olanlarda, düzenli egzersiz yapanlarda ve düzenli beslenenlerde
daha yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir

Keywords

Yaşlı, sağlık okuryazarlığı, nicel araştırma

Project Number

SAĞ-BAP-160317-77

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