Evaluation of the health literacy levels of patients applying to Family Medicine outpatient clinics

Introduction
Today, the concept of health literacy is used to determine the health needs of the population in parallel with ever-increasing health knowledge. The aim of the study is to evaluate the health literacy level of patients who apply to the Family Medicine preventive health services of Düzce University Hospital and to investigate the relevant factors that may be related to health literacy.

Material and methods
This study was a cross-sectional study carried out between October 2018 and April 2019. The patients were evaluated utilizing the “Health Literacy Survey-European Union (HLS-EU)” scale. The study took place in Düzce Medical Faculty Hospital, Turkey.

Results
A total of 816 patients, 48.5% (n = 396) of them male and 51.4% (n = 420) female, were included in the study. The general health literacy levels of the patients were as follows: 30.6% (n = 250) insufficient, 33.4% (n = 272) limited, 28.9% (n = 236) sufficient, 7.1% (n = 58) excellent. According to all subdimensions and matrix averages of the scale used in the study, the mean score that patients received in understanding and applying health information in the disease prevention dimension (8.45 ± 2.30, 8.10 ± 2.38, respectively) was found to be lower than health care (11.20 ± 2.72, 11.63 ± 3.01, respectively).

Conclusions
The study results revealed a lower level of health literacy in terms of disease prevention rather than healthcare utilization. Initiatives to increase people’s knowledge of disease prevention should be planned.