Drug users' relation with the media, their media literacy and health literacy levels

The general purpose of this study is to determine the media literacy and health literacy levels of drug users receiving drug treatment in Turkey, and to question the relationship between these levels and their drug use status. Moreover, in this research data were obtained from 636 participants who applied to Alcohol and Substance Addiction Treatment Center (AMATEM) affiliated to Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital for drug treatment. A survey was conducted to evaluate drug situations and media habits. While "Turkey Health Literacy Scale-32 (TSOY-32) was used to determine the health literacy levels of the participants, the "Media Literacy Level Determination Scale" was used to determine the media literacy levels of them. The findings reveal that the education and income levels of those who applied for drug treatment were generally low. The average age of the first drug using is 18. It was seen that the most used substance was heroin and followed by cannabis using. More than half of drug users stated that they did not know about the harms before starting to use drugs. In the study, it was determined that the internet was the most followed (64.9%) platform, concerning drug users' relations with media. A quarter of the participants (22.9%) stated that the media has a role in line with their personal experiences about the role of the media at the point of initiating drugs. According to the research findings, it has been determined that the health literacy levels of drug users are quite inadequate (91%) and media literacy levels were at a moderate level (63.5%). Moreover, a positive relationship was found between health literacy and media literacy levels. Accordingly, it has been determined that raising the level of health literacy of drug users would also increase the level of media literacy, and that these two literacy levels will support each other. Also, in fighting against drug using campaigns, it should be emphasized that using alternative platforms together with traditional ones, might be more effective. Keywords: Drug addiction, substance addiction (abuse), media literacy, health literacy