THE LEVEL OF HEALTH LITERACY OF ACADEMICIANS AND FACTORS AFFECTING IT

It is important to consider the level of health literacy in evaluating individuals in health-related matters. This study was conducted to determine the level of health literacy of the academic staff working at non-health schools in Kayseri Erciyes University and the affecting factors. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on 690 academicians with “European Health Literacy Scale Turkish Version” (HLS-TR). 28.8% of the research group has sufficient level of health literacy and 28.8±8.4 average score. The sufficient health literacy level is higher in women, married ones, the ones having no chronical diseases and research assistants. In logistic regression analysis, the sufficient HL level of those married to a health worker is 1.8 times higher when compared to those who are not married to a health worker. The sufficient HL level of those who are considered as healthy is 1.72 times higher than those who are considered to have bad health. To increase the level of health literacy, multidisciplinary health training projects in which the state, education system, universities, health system and media are included should be carry out.