Investigation of health literacy, quality of life and affecting factors in Bitlis Eren University academic staff

Aim: This research was conducted to examine the health literacy, quality of life and affecting factors of the academic staff of Bitlis Eren University. Material and Method: It is a descriptive cross-sectional study. According to 2018 data, the number of universe was determined as 436 academic staff at Bitlis Eren University. 79.8% of the academic staff (348 people) were reached. A questionnaire form was used to collect data. The questionnaire form consists of 30 descriptive questions prepared by the researcher in line with the literature, The European Health Literacy Survey and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Short Form WHOQOL-BREF-TR Scale. The results were evaluated at the p<0.05 significance level. Results: 33.3% (116 people) of the research group were female and 66.7% (232 people) were male. 40.8% of the academicians have insufficient or limited level of health literacy, and 59.2% of them have sufficient or excellent level of health literacy. The mean ± sd value of the general health status dimension, physical health, psychological and social relations sub-dimensions of the academics in the obese group were found to be statistically significantly lower than those of the overweight and normal ones. The general health status dimension mean ± sd value of the academicians who never smoked was found to be statistically significantly higher than those of occasional and regular smokers. Conclusion: Institutions that show and ensure the development of the society are higher education institutions, and it is necessary to increase the studies to determine the health literacy levels of academicians, who are the most basic elements of these institutions. It should be repeated in different groups for richer findings on Turkey in general. Key Words: Academician, qality of life, health literacy, WHOQOL-BREF.