Evaluation of health literacy and healthy lifestyle behaviors in women aged 18-65 years who applied to Çanakkale Province Healthy Life Center

Health literacy and healthy lifestyle behaviors are public health concepts that play an effective role in individuals taking their own health responsibilities, thus improving public health and improving health. This work is a descriptive study aiming to evaluate the health literacy and healthy lifestyle behaviors of women aged 18-65 who applied to an institution to receive preventive health services. The study was completed with 211 people between the ages of 18-65 who applied to Çanakkale Province Healthy Life Center to receive any health service and participated in the study voluntarily. The questionnaire consists of personal information and health characteristics prepared by the researcher, Turkish Health Literacy Scale-32 and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors-II. The data compiled in the study; analyzed using the necessary statistical methods. It was determined that 48.8% of the participants had sufficient level of health literacy and 17.1% of them had excellent level of health literacy. A positive and significant relationship was found between the participants' healthy lifestyle behaviors scores and their health literacy total scores (r=.530; p<0.001). As the education level, income level, and health perception increase, the level of health literacy and healthy lifestyle behaviors also increase. One of the important steps to be carried out to strengthen and improve public health is to plan and carry out health literacy studies. Studies to be organized with appropriate national programs and institutional cooperation; priority groups such as women, children and the elderly should be considered. On the other hand; The need for in-service training to increase the awareness of health professionals providing health services on health literacy is also important.