Determining Health Literacy Level of Women with Gynecological Cancer and Affecting Factors

Abstract

Aim: In the literature, it is suggested that early diagnosis of gynecological cancers and participation in screening programs are associated with health literacy. This study was conducted to determine the health literacy levels of women with gynecological cancer and the affecting factors. Method: The sample of this descriptive and cross-sectional study consisted of 128 women who volunteered to participate in the study and were treated in the gynecological oncology service of the Oncology Center of a Training and Research Hospital in Izmir between January and June 2021. Data were collected by face-to-face interview method using a questionnaire and Health Literacy Scale. Results: In the study, the mean age of women with gynecological cancer is 60.81∓11.18 (min=24, max=81), more than half (68.0%) are primary school graduates, almost all (95.3%) are married, 53.9% have 3 or more children and 90.6% are not employed. The mean total score of the women's health literacy scale is 94.38±13.91. The factors that are found to be significantly (p0.05). It was determined that health behaviors such as smoking, adherence to treatment, and changing medication doses without consulting did not affect the health literacy scale score (p>0.05). Conclusion: In the study, it was concluded that the health literacy level of women was sufficient, the factors affecting health literacy were generally socio-demographic variables, and the disease characteristics and health behaviors did not affect the health literacy level.