THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH LITERACY AND HEALTH PERCEPTION IN ELDERLY LIVING IN NURSING HOME IN TURKEY

Abstract

Introduction: Changes seen by ageing can affect the level of health literacy and the perception of health. This study was carried out to examine the relationship between health literacy and health perception in the elderly. Materials and Method: This study was designed as a descriptive study. The sample consisted of 238 elderly individuals living in two nursing homes in Turkey between July and October 2018. The Health Literacy Scale, the Perception of Health Scale and a questionnaire form were used to collect data. Results: In this study, the mean score of Health Literacy Scale was found to be 47.08 +/- 13.38, and the Perception of Health Scale mean score was 52.64 +/- 6.50. A low positive correlation was found between Health Literacy Scale and Perception of Health Scale (r = 0.341, p < 0.001). A statistically significant difference was observed among educational status, occupation, economical status, chronic disease, regular check-ups, participation in nursing home activities on a permanent basis and the Health Literacy Scale mean scores (p < 0.05). A statistically significant difference was noted among educational status, occupation, chronic disease and the Perception of Health Scale mean scores (p < 0.05) Conclusion: While health perception was found to be moderate in the elderly participants, health literacy was determined as low. This study showed a relationship between health literacy and health perception in the elderly. This results could be used as evidence for designing and providing training programs for health literacy and the perception of health.