The effect of health literacy on anxiety in women with breast cancer

Anxiety is the feeling of anxiety and fear of individuals about possible threats they may encounter in the future. Worrying and repetitive negative thoughts are frequently observed in those with anxiety disorders (American Psychological Association, 2018). Cancer patients may feel high levels of fear and anxiety during the diagnosis process, before and after treatment. In the study, it was stated that the anxiety that may be experienced in individuals diagnosed with breast cancer should be treated urgently (Rogers and Turner, 2011). In other studies, anxiety was detected in 10% (Bilgili Yeğen, 2023), 38.4% (Kamińska et al., 2015), and 45% (Villar et al., 2017) of women diagnosed with breast cancer. Other studies have found that the prevalence of anxiety in women with breast cancer varies between 10.6% and 77.5% (Li et al., 2012; Yeh and Lee, 2015). As seen in research, the incidence of anxiety in women with breast cancer can be quite high. For this reason, health literacy is thought to be important for a helpful approach to treatment and for reducing patients' anxiety levels. Individuals with limited health literacy levels in cancer patients are considered at risk during the treatment and recovery process (Housten et al., 2021). Participation in cancer prevention programs is affected by factors such as information abundance, health literacy and beliefs. Some beliefs run counter to the lifestyle changes that should be made to reduce the risk of cancer or increase the chances of cure. People who are fatalistic about cancer and think that cancer is not under human control attach less importance to cancer screening (Fleary et al., 2019). At this point, health literacy can also affect the cancer screening process and enable early diagnosis and treatment. Based on literature information, the effect of health literacy on anxiety in women with breast cancer will be examined and possible situations will be identified. In addition, the differentiation of health literacy and anxiety levels according to the determined demographic variables will be examined.