Armaghane Danesh Bimonthly Journal (Apr 2024)
Investigating Health Literacy and its Influencing Factors in Medical and Dental Students of Yasuj University of Medical Sciences
Abstract
Background & aim: Health literacy expresses the capacity of a person to obtain, interpret and understand the necessary information for needed services and appropriate decisions in the field of health. In Iran, there is conflicting information about the health literacy status of people, especially medical and dental students, as well as the opinion that these students will enter the medical community later and it is necessary to check their literacy level; Therefore, in the present research, the level of health literacy of dental and medical students of Yasuj University of Medical Sciences was evaluated. Methods: The present descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted on 171 students of dentistry and medicine at Yasuj University of Medical Sciences in 2022. The sample size was selected by systematic random method and using Cochran's formula. The Health Literacy Questionnaire of Montazeri and colleagues (HELIA) was used to collect information. The data was analyzed using SPSS ver. 25 software and a significance level of 0.05. Results: Out of 171 students participating in the present study, 83 were male and 88 were female. Thirty-three of the participants were studying dentistry and 138 were studying medicine. 75.4% of students had sufficient health literacy and 6.4% had excellent health literacy. Based on the results, there was no statistically significant difference between the health literacy of dental and medical students of Yasuj University of Medical Sciences in terms of gender, being married or single, economic status and place of residence. According to the, entry year and age, there was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion: Considering the active role of students, especially those in the fields of medicine and dentistry, in their own health and that of society, there is a need for a high level of health literacy among this segment of the population. The results of this study suggest that addressing this issue can be effective for officials and policymakers in creating conditions for necessary interventions to increase the health literacy level of students.
