Examining the relationship between parental health literacy and child health

Health literacy refers to the personal, cognitive, and social skills that enable individuals to access, understand, and use accurate health information for effective health management. Parents, who constitute a significant subset of the adult population, are responsible for both their own health attitudes and behaviours as well as those of the children in their care. Enhancing or improving health literacy among parents is crucial for providing quality healthcare to children and eliminating health disparities. Nurses, who play a vital role in the healthcare system, are instrumental in providing quality healthcare services and elevating health literacy levels. This research is a descriptive and cross-sectional study aimed at determining the relationship between parental health literacy levels and child health. The study population consists of parents with at least one child between the ages of 6 and 12, and the sample consists of parents residing in the city center of Kırşehir, representing the population. Data were collected using the Turkish Health Literacy Scale and Child Health Outcome questions. Descriptive statistics, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, correlation analysis, and variance analysis were conducted using AMOS, SPSS 25, and MS Excel. The study found that parental health literacy dimensions varied according to the number of family members, income status, education level, parental age, number of children, and parental occupation. In conclusion, a significant positive relationship was identified between child health outcomes and parental health literacy dimensions. Increasing health literacy levels among parents requires appropriate strategies and planning within the nurse-patient relationship. It is recommended to increase the number of studies on parental health literacy and child health and establish a standard for evaluating child health outcomes in research studies.