EXAMINING THESES ON HEALTH LITERACY IN TURKEY

Abstract

Health literacy refers to individuals' ability to possess the necessary skills to make informed
decisions about health-related issues. Individuals with adequate health literacy can read and
understand written materials and communicate effectively with healthcare professionals. The
purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of graduate theses on health literacy in
Türkiye and determine the direction of research topics. Since health literacy is associated with areas
such as the preservation and improvement of individual and public health, and the reduction of
healthcare costs, it is important to examine studies conducted in this field and conduct content
analysis. In this study, content analysis was performed on theses (122 master's theses and 21
doctoral dissertations) with access permission on the YÖK National Thesis page. Theses that
include the concept of health literacy in the fields of nursing, midwifery, and public health were
included in the study. Parameters such as advisor title, page number, date of study, university,
research design, sample group, objectives, results, and keywords were used in the research. The
data were analyzed using SPSS and MS Excel, and descriptive statistics were applied. 2022 is the
year in which the topic of health literacy has drawn interest the most since 2011, and studies have
been concentrated in the field of nursing. Generally, descriptive, and descriptive-cross-sectional
designs were used as research designs (30.8% and 35%, respectively). In these theses with different
sample groups, mostly patients and adults were studied (25.9% and 25.2%, respectively). The
objectives of the thesis studies generally focused on examining and correlating health literacy levels
and diseases. There is also a tendency to determine the levels of health literacy and examine its
impact on healthy living. Studies on health literacy for parents and caregivers were found to be less
common than others. In the conclusion sections of the theses, it was emphasized that increasing
health literacy levels is necessary for creating a healthy lifestyle and improving disease
management. In addition, it was observed that studies that adapt scales and develop education
materials/plans to increase health literacy are generally doctoral dissertations. Based on the
examined studies, it is recommended that studies on health literacy for parents and caregivers be
increased. It is also recommended that education materials used in studies be disseminated to more
people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and improve disease management.