DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF HEALTH LITERACY AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF VOCATIONAL SCHOOL OF HEALTH SERVICES STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has initiated a new process in Turkey and worldwide. University students need information and training about the coronavirus to make effective decisions about their health and the health of others. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the relationship between students' quality of life and level of health literacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: The correlational study was carried out with 451 students studying at a a foundation university between February and April 2021. Data were collected using the "Descriptive Characteristics Form, COVID-19 Knowledge and Awareness Questionnaire, Turkey Health Literacy Scale (THLS-32) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Short Form Turkish Version (WHOQOL-BREF-TR)." Results: The study revealed that most students had adequate and excellent health literacy levels. The students' overall score on the WHOQOL-BREF-TR was 85.00±14.60 points, and their quality of life was high. There was a significant correlation between the “THLS-32 and WHOQOL-BREF-TR” (r=0.39; p=0.00). The THLS-32 scores of students, whose income was higher than their expenses, whose mother was a university graduate, and who stated that wearing a mask and the COVID-19 vaccine were effective against COVID-19, were statistically significantly higher compared to the other students (p<0.05). The WHOQOL-BREF-TR scores of students, whose income was higher than their expenses and whose mother was a university graduate, were found to be statistically significantly level higher (p<0.05). Conclusion: A positive and significant correlation was found between the students' health literacy and quality of life. As the health literacy level of students increases, heir quality of life also increases.

Keywords

• Pandemic
• Health Literacy
• Quality of Life

DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF HEALTH LITERACY AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF VOCATIONAL SCHOOL OF HEALTH SERVICES STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Giriş: COVID-19 pandemisi Türkiye’de ve dünyada yeni bir süreci başlattı. Üniversite öğrencilerinin kendi sağlığı ve başkalarının sağlığı ile ilgili etkin kararlar alabilmesi için koronavirüs hakkında bilgi ve eğitim ihtiyacı bulunmaktadır. Amaç: Bu araştırma, COVID-19 pandemisi sürecinde sağlık hizmetleri meslek yüksekokulu öğrencilerinin sağlık okuryazarlığı düzeyi ile yaşam kalitesi arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu tanımlayıcı-ilişki arayıcı çalışma bir vakıf üniversitesinde öğrenim gören 451 öğrenci ile Şubat-Nisan 2021 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler "Tanımlayıcı Özellikler Formu, COVID-19 Bilgi ve Farkındalık Anketi, Türkiye Sağlık Okuryazarlığı Ölçeği (TSOY-32) ve Dünya Sağlık Örgütü Yaşam Kalitesi Ölçeği-Kısa Form Türkçe Versiyonu (WHOQOL-BREF-TR)" kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Araştırma öğrencilerin çoğunluğunun yeterli ve mükemmel sağlık okuryazarlığı düzeylerine sahip olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Öğrencilerin WHOQOL-BREF-TR toplam puanı 85,00±14,60 puan ve yaşam kaliteleri yüksekti. “THLS-32 ile WHOQOL-BREF-TR” arasında anlamlı düzeyde korelasyon vardı (r=0.39; p=0.00). Geliri giderlerinden yüksek olan, annesi üniversite mezunu olan, maske takmanın ve COVID-19 aşısının COVID-19'a karşı etkili olduğunu belirten öğrencilerin TSOY-32 puanları diğer öğrencilere oranla istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede yüksekti (p<0.05). Geliri giderlerinden yüksek olan ve annesi üniversite mezunu olan öğrencilerin WHOQOL-BREF-TR puanları istatistiksel olarak anlamlı düzeyde yüksek bulundu (p<0.05). Sonuç: Öğrencilerin sağlık okuryazarlığı ile yaşam kalitesi arasında pozitif ve anlamlı bir ilişki olduğu belirlendi. Öğrencilerin sağlık okuryazarlığı düzeyi yükseldikçe yaşam kalitesi düzeyi de yükselmektedir.

Keywords

• Pandemik
• Sağlık Okuryazarlığı
• Yaşam Kalitesi

References

1. 1. Duman D. Fear of Covid-19 and intolerance of uncertainty among university students. The Journal of Social Science. 2020;4(8):426-437.
2. 2. Majumder J, Minko T. Recent developments on therapeutic and diagnostic approaches for Covid-19. The Aaps Journal. 2021;5;23(1):14.
3. 3. Kim JK, Crimmins EM. How does age affect personal and social reactions to Covid-19: results from the national understanding americaAmerica study. Plos One. 2020;15(11):E0241950.
4. 4. Cohen G, Russo MJ, Campos JA, Allegri RF. Living with dementia: increased level of caregiver stress in times of Covid-19. Int Psychogeriatr. 2020;32(11):1377-1381.
5. 5. Hernantes N, Pumar-Méndez MJ, López-Dicastillo O, Iriarte A, Mujika A. Volunteerism as adolescent health promotion asset: a scoping review. Health Promotion International. 2020;35(3):610-623.
6. 6. Riiser K, Helseth S, Haraldtad K, Torbjornsen A, Richardsen KR. Adolescents' health literacy, health protective measures, and health-related quality of life during the Covid-19 pandemic. Plos One. 2020;15(8):E0238161.
7. 7. Estrada CA, Ramos Gregorio EJR, Kanyasan K, Hun J. School health promotion in south-east Asia by Japan and partners. Pediatrics International.2020;62(9):1029-1038.
8. 8. Dinçer A, Kurşun Ş. Determining the health literacy levels of university students. Sted. 2017;26(1):20-26. 9. Spring H. Health literacy and Covid-19. Health Info Libr J. 2020;37(3):171-172.

9. 10. Nguyen HC Nguyen MH, Do BN, Tran CQ, Nguyen TTP, Pham KM et all. People with suspected Covid-19 symptoms were more likely depressed and had lower health-related quality of life: the potential benefit of health literacy. J Clin Med. 2020;9(4):965.
10. 11. Tran TY, Nguyen HC, Pham LY, Nguyen MH, Nguyen HC, Ha TH. et allal. Impacts and interactions of Covid-19 response involvement, health-related behaviours, health literacy on anxiety, depression and health-related quality of life among healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study. Bmj Open. 2020;10(12): E041394.
11. 12. Peksoy Kaya S. ve Kaplan S. Evaluation of the relationship between Covid-19 pandemic awareness and health behaviors and health literacy among nursing students. HEAD. 2020;17(4):304-11.
12. 13. Okyay P, Abacıgil F. Turkish health literacy scales reliability and validity study. Ministry of Health, 2016.
13. 14. Eser S, Fidaner H, Fidaner C, Elbi H, Eser E, Göker E. Measure of quality-of-life whoqol-100 and whoqol-bref. 3p Journal.1999;7:5-13.
14. 15. Kuloglu Y, Uslu K. The impact of health literacy on the perception of health in the health workers of the future. Dogus University Journal. 2022;23(1):255-277.
15. 16. Patil U, Kostareva U, Hadley M, Manganello JA, Okan O, Dadaczynski K et al. Health literacy, digital health literacy, and Covid-19 pandemic attitudes and behaviors in US. College students: implications for interventions. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2021;18,3301.
16. 17. Chesser A, Ham AD, Woods NK. Assessment of CovıdCovid-19 knowledge among university students: implications for future risk communication strategies. Health Educ Behav. 2020;47(4):540-543.
17. 18. Roy, D, Tripathy S, Kar SK, Sharma N, Verma SK. and Kaushal V. Study of knowledge, attitude, anxiety & perceived mental healthcare need in Indian population during Covid-19 pandemic. Asian Journal Of Psychiatry. 2020;51,102083.
18. 19. Paasche-Orlow MK. and Wolf MS. The causal pathways linking health literacy to health outcomes. American Journal Of Health Behavior. 2007;31,19-26.
19. 20. Turkish ministry of health, general directorate of health promotion, Turkey health literacy level and related factors study. (TSOYA-2017). Ankara 2018, ministry of health publication no. 1103.
20. 21. Nurhayati F, Wahjuni ES, Andrijanto D, Febriyanti I, Kaharina A. Quality of life and level of physical activity in sports education students during the Covid-19 pandemic. IJCAH, 2020;491.
21. 22. Bulguroğlu Hİ, Bulguroğlu M, Özaslan M. Covid-19 investigation of physical activity, quality of life and depression levels of university students during the pandemic process. Acıbadem University Journal of Health Sciences. 2021;12(2):306-311.
22. 23. Abdullah MFILB, Murad NS, Teoh SH, Mohamad MA. Quality of life of university students during the Covid-19 pandemic: assessing the level of quality of life and the associated factors after the end of movement lockdown. Research Square. 2020.
23. 24. Mazza C, Ricci E, Biondi S, Colasanti M, Ferracuti S, Napoli C, et al. Survey of psychological distress among Italian people during the Covid-19 pandemic: immediate psychological responses and associated factors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2020;17(9):3165.
24. 25. Duong TY, Lin IF, Sørensen K, Pelikan JM, Van Den Broucke S., Lin YC et all. Health literacy in Taiwan: a population-based study. Asia-Pac. J. Public Health. 2015;27:871–880.
25. 26. Kayupova G, Turdaliyeva B, Tulerayev K, Duong TY, Chang PW, Zagulova D. Health literacy among visitors of district polyclinics in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Iran. J. Public Health. 2017;46:1062–1070.
26. 27. Akcilek, E. Investigation of health literacy and quality of life in university students. (unpublished master thesis). Istanbul Medipol university institute of health sciences, Istanbul, 2017.
27. 28. Güzel A, Turan S, Üner S. Health literacy levels of university students and some related factors. Value in Health Sciences. 2022;12(3):390-400.