HEALTH LITERACY LEVEL: AKYAZI EXAMPLE

Aim: Within the scope of this research, it was aimed to determine the health literacy levels of individuals residing in Sakarya/Akyazı and in terms of which socio-demographic characteristics of individuals differ. Methods: 428 participants were reached using the convenience sampling method. However, due to missing data, data from 400 participants were included in the analyses. The Turkey Health Literacy Scale (T-SOY) developed by Okyay et al., (2016) was used to determine the health literacy level of the individuals. The questionnaire prepared by Teleş and Kaya (2021) was used to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of the patients. Results: 60% of the participants are male, 70% are married, 35.8% are 30 years old and under, 48.5% are associate degree graduates, and 68% are full-time employees. Health literacy levels are higher in women, individuals without chronic diseases, non-smokers, individuals aged 30 and under, individuals with postgraduate education, individuals with an income of 10501 TL or more, and individuals with public insurance, compared to the opposite groups. Conclusion: Cultural change over time can be tracked through health literacy assessments. Particularly, stakeholders in the health-education-politics-media quadrant can accelerate efforts to increase the level of health literacy by assuming more active roles.